Here's to Looking Down the Track
by EscapeArtist25
Summary: What happens after Kris Furillo gets kicked out of Raintree? How does she get back on her feet and who helps her do it? Matt? Junior? Or someone else? KrisxJunior! Maybe MattxDani, depends on what readers want to see.
1. What are you doing here?

Kris was walking down the long stretch of highway before her. _I can't believe this is happening. I just wanted to help and I messed everything up! I always do. What's wrong with me? _She kept thinking to herself what the Ritters could have done for money if she hadn't joined the race. _Just win races I guess. But now it's harder without me and Wildfire doesn't perform his best with someone else. Matt was right. What was I thinking? That was a HUGE risk I was taking. I thought I became more responsible after almost three years at Raintree. _She tried thinking about other things to take her mind off what she had done and the aftermath of it, but nothing seemed to work. _Maybe I have changed a little. I haven't stolen a car yet. I'm still walking. _Kris smiled at the irony of the situation. _Where will I go?I can't call Jace or my mom. I left my cell at the ranch so no one could be able to contact me. I can't go to Juniors and I definitely can't go back to Raintree. _She didn't know where to go, she decided to just walk and wherever she ended up, fine. She would make it work. She could get a job, she was no longer on parole so it wouldn't be much of an issue, and she was arrested at sixteen and she was now twenty. _A good four years. And the record gets erased after turning eighteen. _She never ended up getting her GED, but she could easily go back to school and get it. She was already almost done earning it anyway.

After an hour more of walking and thinking about what she was going to do, a car slowed up beside her. A bald, perverted-looking man, probably in his late forties, poked his head out the window. "Need a ride, honey?"

"Ugh." She was disgusted. She walked up to the car like she was going to accept his offer, then kicked the side of his tire. "Get out of here." The man shrugged and pulled his head back into the car. "Your loss." Kris walked off smiling and said sarcastically, "Right." _Gross!! _

Kris walked for another hour or so, and she was getting hungry. She looked in her backpack. _Okay, what do I have? _She had so many things she decided to take, that she had to walk away from the road she was walking onto the nearby grass. She threw her duffel bag of clothes down. _Wow, amazing how much lighter I feel after setting that down. _She then sat down herself and began to go through her backpack. She didn't even remember what all she had put in there. She was so hurt and guilty and confused that she just threw things in. She found a hershey bar and began to snack on that while looking for something more wholesome. _My first racing ribbon_, she put it to the side and looked into her backpack again. _The picture Jace gave to me of him in Iraq, _she then set that down next to her as well. _A picture of me and Wildfire, the bracelet Todd made for me, the cowboy hat Junior threw up in the air towards me after he qualified the first time, _she went threw almost all the things in her bag and found only a bag of potato chips to eat. She sighed heavily. _This sucks. And not just the food thing, everything. There has to be something left in this bag. _She reached into her bag one more time and pulled out a small, thick, long piece of paper. _What's this? _She turned it around and stared at it for a long time, thinking about all the memories that it started. _The pictures of me and Junior in the photobooth. _She looked at them and remembered how happy she was at that moment. _I miss that. I miss Junior. I miss Matt. I miss Pablo. I even miss Dani. _Kris rested her head in her hands and sighed again. She threw everything back into her backpack and got up. She picked up her things and started walking again.

It seemed like merely walking reminded her of so many more things than the things she was looking at. Probably because she had nothing to do with her mind while walking and she had time to think about those things. Her mind took her back to the first year she was there.

_"I never met anyone like you before, and I could really care about you." _She remembered how Matt looked when she said that to him, then how he looked after she told him it couldn't happen.

_"The guys I date are like, Junior. I know them. I know how to handle them, but when it comes to guys like you, I have no idea."_

_"So get to know me."_

_"Matt I need you to promise me that you will leave this alone."_

_"If you wanna choose Tina Matt, choose Tina." _

_"You used to think with your gut!"_

_"You know it's there Matt!"_

_"I don't want it to be."_

_"Well me either but it's there!!!"_

_"I don't know what I want."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I just need time to think."_

_"What is there to think about Kris? I love you."_

_"Matt, if something goes wrong..."_

_"Don't say that! This isn't even about everyone else, this is about us!"_

_"I don't know..."_

_"I wanna do this. I want us to be together."_

_"I guess this is payback. I slept with Kerry while you were dating him."_

_"Gillian I'm sorry."_

_"We have to tell Junior."_

_"I know."_

_"Is something going on between you two? Because there is only one reason why Matt wouldn't tell me he broke up with Gillian."_

_"Yes, there is."_

_"Thankyou."_

_"Junior wait! Let me explain!"_

_"Explain what?! What are you gonna say Kris?"_

_"I'm sorry." _

Kris remembered the look of complete devastation on Junior's face that day and it nearly brought a tear to her eye. She never meant to hurt Junior. She had feelings for Matt. Was she supposed to ignore those feelings just because she was still in love with Junior? _Wait, I'm not still in love with Junior. What was I saying. Or at least I don't think I'm still in love with Junior.._

_"I'm full of good deeds, you just have to ask."_

_"I'll do it, if you come out with me to night."_

_"Where?"_

_"To a club, then maybe back to my place."_

_"You want me to sleep with you to save Wildfire?"_

_"Only one night. Friends, plus benefits."_

_"Forget it."_

_"Okay."_

_"Wait. You promise you won't go back on the deal?"_

_"Promise."_

_"One night of fun and romance, I guarantee you'll be back for more, and if not, okay."_

_"You're not into this."_

_"I'm here. You got what you wanted."_

_"Good morning."_

_"Why did you pretend to fall asleep last night?"_

_"You know us men. We get headaches."_

_"So, you didn't want to?"_

_"No. You didn't."_

_"Just to let you know I put the claim on Wildfire before we went out."_

_"The way your smile stretches all the way across your face. Kris, I see you."_

_"I think I'm in love with you."_

_"You can't be. You don't know me."_

_"Everything I know I love."_

_"I thought you wanted to talk?"_

_"We're not so good at talking."_

_"Right, we're better at this."_

_"Kris Furillo, meet Tina Sharp."_

_"Oh my God Junior! How do you know Tina?"_

_"She used to ride for my dad."_

_"You want to..."_

_"Yeah. Not here..."_

_"My place?"_

_"What about Dani and your dad?"_

_"Your trailer?"_

_"Oh yeah. That's special."_

_"It would be to me."_

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Remembering this."_

_"I'm still here."_

_"Ha yeah you better be."_

_"Come over later?"_

_"If you insist."_

_"Kris you know I don't care about what my dad or anyone else thinks. I want you. If I had to choose you or my family I choose you! I choose you!"_

_"I don't want you to leave your family because of me."  
"My family's a farce!"_

_"Mine's not."_

_"I can't see you anymore."_

_"What? I thought this was what you wanted. I thought you loved me."_

_"I- I do."_

_"Oh my God Flame!"_

_"I bought him, for you. Kris, I would do ANYTHING. Please, don't go. Kris, I love you."_

Kris had so many more memories of Junior than she did of Matt. _But that doesn't mean that I still love Junior. That was over nearly two years ago. I love Matt. _Still, the memories of the good times she spent with Junior and all the pain she saw him go through and what she went through, brought tears to her eyes. She didn't even wipe them away. The tears ran down her cheeks and fell to the cold asphalt beneath her. "I still can't believe this happened," she whispered to herself. With every step she took it seemed to get darker. Until she saw headbeams coming up behind her. She turned around and a car was slowing down and came to a stop. She couldn't see the car or the driver, the lights were too bright. _Oh my God if this is the same asshole it was earlier I'm going to hurt more than his car this time... _Kris walked towards the passenger side window with caution. Slowly the driver came into view. The driver rolled down the window Kris was looking into. She was confused, shocked and scared, but still maintained her seriousness and composure when she asked, "What are you doing here?"


	2. New Mexico

**(A/N: Before I reveal the pairing I have in mind for this story, I want to hear what all of you think. Kris and Matt? Kris and Junior? Kris and someone else? And do you want me to get Dani with someone? Let me know. Also let me know what you think of the actual story so far please.)**

"What are you doing here?"

"Get in the car and I'll tell you."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Quit being stubborn and get in Kris. I know you don't want to walk any further." Kris opened the passenger side door and got in, wondering if she was making a big mistake, or a good decision. Kris looked at the driver and then looked back out the window. After around five minutes the driver spoke up. "I know that Jean made you leave Raintree, and I know your loyalty is there and God, you never let anyone forget it. But they are no longer there for you Kris. This isn't about you and me or anyone with connections to you and me. It's business. I have an idea. Together we can build an empire."

"Go on."

"Okay look, I decided at the last minute to not do the match race because although the money was good, it was way too risky. My stupid brother told me that he was going to call Sheik Omar and tell him that he decided not to do it so that we could still do business. Me and Sheik. And I fell for it, he did the race anyway. Probably to get back at you and Matt more than anything else but anyway, he did it. I got suspicious midway through and I told Molly's brother to stop the race. He told me he would but then he called the racing board. This time I wasn't trying to get you caught, and I definitely wasn't trying to get my brother caught, or Gillian. It would look bad on Davis Farms. Well the racing board showed up at my house and because Junior didn't have a racing license and my dad didn't know about the race, I had to hand my share of the ranch over to Junior. Now Junior is in control and I have nothing except a little bit of money from my dad since he thought it was fair. My share of the farm was worth way more than he gave me but that's Ken Davis. My brother and my dad never believed that someday I could run the ranch on my own, even though I proved to them I could. That place was a mess and I built it up better than it was before. The bottom line is that while I can't stand you and you can't stand me I don't believe that there is anyone on this planet that could run a ranch better than me, and I'm pretty sure you know it. Also, there is no one on this planet that can ride a horse better than you can and everyone knows that. With the money I got for my share of the ranch I'm going to buy a small ranch in New Mexico, because the land is much cheaper out there than it is in California, and build it up. I'm offering to make you my partner. All you need to do is jockey. I'll pay you as much as you were paid at Raintree and after you win a couple of races you can pay me off for your half of the farm. Once you do that, all the revenue will belong as much to you as it does to me and we will run the farm together. I think that with our skills put into the same farm, we can become great." Kris was silent for a minute before she said anything. "I don't know. How do I know you're not going to pull something to get yourself in control completely? How do I know you won't do the same thing to me that you did to Gillian?"

"Because you're not Gillian. I didn't need Gillian. You're a better jockey than Tina Sharp and you have only been riding in races for two years. Imagine how great you will be after just one year? And you will probably keep getting better. Why would I get rid of someone that I need?"

"Still, how can I trust you?"

"Because. You don't have anyone else to trust."

"I don't have a racing license."

"I don't either."  
"So how can we do this?"

"Because all we need to do is request another one. As long as you no longer work from the farm that they took your license away from, you can still get another one. It's harder, and we have to go to a six-week class and do a hundred hours of community service but I'm sure you're used to that." Kris shot Dani a glare for referring to her jailtime. "Who's gonna train the horses?"

"Until we find a good trainer that we can afford, you and I could do it."  
"What? Are you crazy?"

"What? We've both watched Pablo do it. We've both watched Matt do it."

"It's different?"

"Yeah we will probably suck at first but we know the basics we will get the hang of it."

"We don't even have any horses."

"You didn't notice the trailer I'm hauling?" Kris looked back through the back windsheild. "Oh. How many?"

"Only two. But that's a start. And they both have excellent bloodlines. You should know that considering that one of them's father is your best friend."

"My best friend?" Kris was confused at first but then the realization came to her. "Oh my God! Dani? Flame?"

"Yeah. Flame."

"How did you pull that off?"

"What do you mean how did I pull it off? Flame's mine. I own him. Remember?" Kris was so happy to hear that Flame was now partially hers. Flame was like her own child. She saved his life and watched his birth. "So, who's the other one?"

"You remember Pickoro?"

"Yeah! How is he? I thought he couldn't race again."

"That's what we thought. We were even going to put him down but he made a sudden progress in recovery."

"That's great. And again, I'm sorry about..."

"I know. I know you went and talked to Pickoro."

"How?"

"Junior saw you."

"Oh."

"So, are you going to do this with me?"

"I don't know..."

"Well you've got all the way to New Mexico to think of reasons to say no. And you won't find any." Kris started thinking about how this could work. How could she work with her greatest enemy? But then, there were so many reasons to say yes. This was her dream. She could be a great jockey, AND own half of a ranch. And as long as Dani wanted to run this new ranch for selfish reasons, Kris was safe. Dani did need her. And Dani is not going to risk a good business venture because she doesn't like the other person.

The two were silent all the way into crossing into Arizona. "What are we going to call it."

"Are you aggreeing to my proposition?"  
"If I like the name."

"Don't be so, yourself." Kris shot Dani another glare. "Any names in mind?"

"We can't call it Davis Farms."

"Then what do we call it?"

"Davis-Furillo?"

"Furillo-Davis?" Both of them shook their heads on that idea. Many different names were shot back and forth. Dani finally came up with one. "Promesa Farms?"

"Promesa?"

"Yeah. Spanish for Promise. You should know that. You're half Mexican, or Spanish, or something..." Kris corrected her. "Brazilian."

"Right."

"Brazilians speak Portuguese Dani."

"It's still close."

"Whatever."

Kris fell asleep for a few hours and was awakened by a jolt. "What happened?"

"Your lazy ass was asleep and I had to stay awake but I'm tired so I cant really drive that well." Kris smiled and gave Dani a smartass look. "Well then would you like my lazy ass to drive?"

"Hell no. I'm not trusting you with a car. Especially my Escalade. I'll wake up from a police officer calling to tell me they found my Escalade in a chop shop in Detroit, or whatever ghetto city you come from."

"Oakland." Kris shot back. It got quiet and Dani swerved again. "Dani what the hell? Pull over or something."

"I'm not sleeping in my car. There's a Hilton up on the left at the next exit. We'll go there."

"I can't afford a Hilton, Dani."

"Well I'm not leaving you out here alone with my car..."

"Dani cut it with the chop shop jokes."

"Who said they were jokes?"

"Ugh."

"I'll tack your half on to the money you will owe me from your half of the farm."

"Fine."

The two girls got out of the car and walked in. "Two rooms please. One with a view." Kris laughed at what Dani just said. "Of the _desert?_"

"Don't push my hospitality Kris." Dani handed the concierge her credit card. "Dani be sure you get a balcony too so you can see all the dirt better."

"Cut it Kris." The concierge handed the credit card back to Dani. I'm sorry Miss but I'm afraid your card has been denied. Dani looked pissed. "What the hell do you mean it's been denied?! There's no way."

"Sorry Miss."

"Well can you do anything else?"

"I'm afraid I can't."

"Well what the hell do you expect me to do..." Dani read the man's nametag. _"Robert. Here to serve you." _"Robert? Sleep in my car?!"

"There's a Motel 6 just down the street. It's much cheaper so your card might work there."

"Whoa there is no WAY I'm sleeping in one of those whorehouses."

"I'm sorry Maam but you're causing a scene I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I'm not leaving until I get my hotel suite!" Kris rolled her eyes and grabbed Dani's arm. "Let's go Dani. He's not going to give you a room."

Dani finally left, reluctantly. They both got back into the car and Dani drove towards the Motel 6. Kris was smiling. "What's so amusing about this to you, Kris? Just because you lived in a motel 6 doesn't mean it's not still a dump."  
"I was smiling because you were fighting with Robert from the Hilton. It was funny. I know it was a dump. I don't deny that. But you don't need to remind me that my home and childhood was hell on earth." Dani actually felt a little bit of remorse for what she said. She crossed the line. She could barely mutter it up, but she managed to say, "Sorry." Kris looked up at Dani then looked back down at her feet. "Sokay."

Dani pulled up to the Motel 6. She grabbed a can of lysol from the trunk of her car and started to walk inside. Kris caught up to her. "Um, why do you carry lysol in your trunk?"

"For emergencies like these." Kris didn't know how she could come up with a situation like this being the princess that she is and living in a mansion, but she decided to leave it at that and not pursue the matter. They reached the front door and Dani sprayed the handle with lysol before opening it. Kris tried to hide her smile. Dani approached the front desk. "What can I do for y'all? The man was probably in his fifties, bald, beer belly, and smelled funny. Dani took one look at him and turned to leave. Kris grabbed her arm and said quietly in her ear, "Hey! Do you _want _to sleep in the car?" Dani took a deep breath and turned around. She turned her head, trying to avoid the man's smell. She handed him her card. "Two rooms please. One with a view." The man took the card and looked up at her while chewing on his toothpick. "You're kiddin' right?"

"No."

"Listen sweetheart we ain't got no rooms with a view. This is a one story motel. You can't see that darlin?"

"First of all, I'm not your sweetheart or your darlin, and second of all..." Kris spoke up before Dani could say anything else. "Just two rooms will be fine." The man swiped Dani's credit card and handed it back to her. "You're credit card's been denied." Dani yanked the card from his hands. "You've GOT to be kidding me!!!" Kris looked at the man. "How much for a room?"

"Just one?"

"Yeah."

"Sixty bucks a night."

"No it's not." Dani stopped freaking out and looked at what was going on. This interested her.

"I think I know how much my own hotel rooms cost." He glared at Kris. She leaned forward while still trying to avoid the smell. "I think I'm from California and I know that the Motel 6's in Hollywood are only fifty. Are you trying to tell me that some run-down, one-story Motel 6 in the middle of the Arizona desert is more? I'll give you forty." Dani stood there shocked. She knew Kris didn't take any bullshit but still, Kris caught the man in his lie, with proof, and she still looked intimidating. _We're not so different. _"Fine." Kris handed the man two twenties and he swiped it from her hand. He gave her the hotel room card. "Fifty-eight."

"Thank you." She took the card and started to walk outside. "Wait." The two girls turned around. "Don't be afraid to call the front desk if you two ladies want me to come keep you company." Kris said, "We'll be fine," and walked out. It reminded her of earlier that night when the perverted guy asked if she needed a ride. "This world is full of men like that."

"Something we can agree on. I can't believe you didn't get two rooms. I can't share a room with you."

"Then would you like me to remind you where you parked?" Dani swallowed her pride. "No."

"Okay then." 


	3. Forwarning

**(A/N: I would also really love to know who you guys think will really be in the car in season 4.)**

Kris and Dani reached their room at the motel and Kris slid the card to get them inside. "I can't believe you didn't spray the Lysol on the doorknob before you opened it. You're going to get a disease."

"Thanks but I don't think anything will happen by opening a door without spraying Lysol all over it."

"But, it's dirty..."  
"Right. And when people touch something dirty they use this newfangled thing called soap. You should try it sometime. Works miracles." Kris smiled at her cleverness and Dani gave her a sarcastic smirk. They entered the room and Dani threw her stuff on her bed and Kris did the same for hers. "I'm gonna take a shower," Kris informed Dani. "You don't need my permission." Dani began unpacking her things for the night. Kris stopped short of the bathroom and looked at her backpack and took in a deep breath before going inside. _I'll unpack after my shower. Dani's kind of a bitch but I haven't known her to snoop. She won't find the pictures. _

Dani finished unpacking and dressed for bed. _I'll take my shower in the morning. AFTER I sleep in this probably unwashed bed. _Dani yawned and turned to turn off her light when she noticed Kris' stuff. _Hmm. _She got out and put her ear to the bathroom door. _Water's still running. _She turned back and sat on Kris' bed and slowly began to go through her stuff, not expecting to find anything that had to do with Junior, but looking for something to do with Matt. _Okay. _She pulled out the first item. _A racing ribbon, A picture of the Ritters, a half-eaten Hershey bar, _nothing was too incriminating and Dani was about to give up her search and go to bed, until she noticed something in the bottom of Kris' bag that had her brother's handwriting on it. _What's this?_

Even taking a warm, steamy shower couldn't get Kris' mind off of everything. _I thought this would relax me... _she said with a disappointed look on her face. She put her head underneath the shower head and closed her eyes. More memories came flooding back to her.

_"I didn't know you were that strong."_

_"You could easily take me. I don't know that many girls who could lift ninety pound bales of hay." _

_"Yeah well I don't know many guys that would do this."_

_"What was that?!"_

_"A horse. Can you believe it?"_

_"Hm."_

_"There are only two reasons a mare would refuse stud. One, she's not in heat which we KNOW she was, or two..."_

_"She's already pregnant."_

_"Yes. But how?"_

_"Junior, is Matt there?"_

_"Yeah, somewhere. Why is something wrong?"_

_"Just tell Matt to come home right now and postpone the race for me please."_

_"Junior! I'm so glad you're here!"  
"What's wrong?"  
"Belladonna's in labor and the vet things the fole is positioned wrong. I need you to get her to lie down."_

_"Junior, look."_

_"Is that..."_

_"It's, incredible."_

_"What are we going to name him?"_

_"Child of Belladonna and Wildfire... Willadonna? Childfire."_

_"What's with the bow?"_

_"He wanted to look spiffy for his new owner, you."_

_"Me?"_

_"I bought him, for you."_

_"I was thinking, while you were gone, I could, start his training..."_

_"Training?"_

_"Kris, I would do anything."_

_What's this?_ Dani pulled out the small piece of paper. It was a napkin from Ray's cafe. _I love you. Junior and Kris 4ever. Hm. A little elementary of you Junior. Why would Kris keep this after they broke up? _Dani looked in the bag again. Underneath the napkin was Junior's cowboy hat, pictures of her and Junior kissing in a photo booth, a necklace he gave to her, a small, broken-off piece of her cast that he had signed, a clip of a magazine with her and Junior's picture at a party after one of the races, and finally, the blanket that Junior took with him when he told Dani that he and Kris were having a picnic. Dani heard the water shut off. "Shit," she whispered. She put everything back in the bag and tried to put it exactly where she had found it. Dani climbed into bed and shut off her light as soon as Kris opened the door from the bathroom. She turned over, facing away from where Kris' bed was, eyes wide open. _Oh my God. _

Kris threw her stuff in a chair on the other side of the room and unzipped her backpack. She got the blanket out and walked over to her bed. She draped the blanket over her and layed down on the bed and fell asleep, not thinking that Dani had ever seen the blanket before or had known what it is that it represented. Dani was still awake, and after awhile she thought Kris was asleep and she turned back over, facing Kris. She saw the blanket on top of her. _Maybe it's not the same blanket. It can't be. She is with Matt. She can't still be in love with Junior. After Kerry? After Matt? After the Sandpiper?_ Dani turned on her light and noticed a small tear in one of the right corners of the blanket and turned the light off again. _That's the one. _

Kris woke up in the morning to the sound of a squeaky water faucet turning on. _Dani must be in the shower. _She got out of bed and stretched while simultaneously yawning, and walked over to her duffel bag to get her clothes. She got all dressed and ready except for brushing her hair and her teeth. She debated as to whether or not she should test Dani by knocking on the shower door and asking her to hurry. _I'm in the middle of the Mojave desert. And Dani has the car. _Kris brushed her hair in the main room and decided to wait until Dani was out. "What took you so long?"

"Me? You were in the shower for a half an hour last night."

"Not because that's how long it takes me, because I was thinking about things." Dani tried to hide a smile. "What things?" Kris was never good at lying. "Um, you know, about the new ranch." Dani knew what, or rather, who, Kris was thinking about, but decided to wait to bring it all up. _I'll do this on the drive. _The two girls got in the car and Dani stopped in front of the main office so Kris could take back the key. Kris grabbed the complimentary breakfast, which in Motel 6 and other motels that are similiar, is really just donuts and coffee. She turned to leave, but then went back and got coffee and a donut for Dani. She opened the car door and handed them to Dani. "Here." Dani took the coffee and donut and looked at Kris and muttered a quiet "thanks."

The two girls were quiet nearly the rest of the morning, except a few words here and there, but not really conversation starters. Kris' head was resting on the window and she was looking out. Dani flew past a sign that Kris read "Welcome to New Mexico." "We're here."

"Not yet. The land I'm buying is near the border of Texas. We've still got another eight hours or so to go."

"Oh." _Great. Another night in a hotel with Dani. _Dani was thinking of the opportune moment to bring up the things she had found the night before. She went back and forth about it, but in the end she decided not to bring them up. She knew Kris was one of those people who really hate when other people go through their stuff, and as much as she would have _loved _to piss Kris off, she was her new partner. Some things are better left unsaid. And she hated Kris a little bit less after she found out that she had not one memoir of Matt in her backpack.

When they got into a more civilized area of New Mexico, Dani drove into a drive-through ATM to check the status of her credit card. She slid the card in and out and waited for the response. She read the screen. _Credit Card Balance: $3,000 _

_Cash Available: $3,000._

"What does it say?"

"I guess I was over my spending limit before, because now it says I can use it."  
"That's good."

"Yeah."

The girls were in within 50 miles of El Paso, Texas, which was about ten miles east of the new ranch. Dani pulled up to another Hilton and parked the car. The two grabbed their stuff and walked inside. This time there was no problem at the front desk. Dani got a suite, with two rooms. Hers was the one with the view, of course, but the two of them were separated only by a thin door within the same hotel suite. "So how much is my half of the suite?" Dani couldn't believe she was about to say what she was beginning to tell Kris. "You know, don't worry about it." Kris was shocked. Dani had never done anything like this for her before. It wasn't much of a gesture since Kris payed last night, but this one must have been at least a hundred dollars more than what she had paid, and for Dani, it was a big gesture. A symbol of one step towards peace between them. "Are-are you sure?", she said, still in awe. "Yeah. You paid last night." Kris smiled at Dani.

"Thank you."

"Yep. Well I'll see you in the morning." Kris took the hint and went to her own room.

Kris got the blanket out of her backpack and once again draped it over her body. It still smelled like a mix of grass and of Junior. For some reason it seemed to bother her much more tonight than it did the last one. She took in a whiff of the blanket and closed her eyes to fall asleep when she began feeling them getting heavy. _Oh no. _She opened her eyes and sure enough, water spilled out. She tried holding back the tears that were to come but she couldn't do it. She cried into the blanket, hoping that that would keep her quiet enough so Dani wouldn't hear her. Not that Dani would _care, _but she didn't want Dani to know that she cried. She was trying to put up a stronger front than Dani was. She couldn't stop thinking about Junior, and couldn't understand why she wasn't thinking about Matt, at all. She loved Matt, or at least she thought she did. Why didn't memories of her and Matt keep following her?

Dani tried to ignore the small whimpers she heard from the other room. Of course she didn't care, she told herself. But she was trying to sleep. She knocked on Kris' door and heard Kris say "Come in." In a small voice, trying to hide her cries. She covered her face with the blanket in order to keep her tears and red eyes hidden from Dani. Dani saw her cover her face. "You don't have to do that. I know what you are doing." Kris pulled the blanket off of her face and re-adjusted her position on the bed. "What?"

"Could you try to keep it down?"  
"Yeah, sorry. Didn't know you could hear me."

"You cry louder than you think you do. I'm the same way. Everyone knows when Dani Davis is sad."

"You cover it up pretty well."

"Only because I cover it up with anger." Dani didn't know why she was spilling all this personal stuff out to her enemy, so she quickly stopped. "Well anyway I'm going to the vending machines to get a bottle of water. You want anything?", remembering how Kris brought her a coffee and a donut earlier. "No. Thanks though. I'm fine."

"Alright."

Dani shut the door behind her and leaned up against it. She didn't go get the water that she had planned on going to get. She just leaned up against Kris' door. _Should I tell him? Does he have a right to know? _Dani wanted to tell Junior that Kris still loved him so badly, but then on the other hand Junior was doing great with Gillian. She thought that maybe Gillian could make Junior forget about Kris. In the back of her mind she knew that if she told Junior, it would make him really happy. Kris was always number one to him. But at the same time, if things did start going with Kris again, who's to say they wouldn't break up? She didn't want to see Kris hurt her brother, AGAIN. She went back and forth about what to do all night, until finally she felt herself drift off to sleep.

_"Do you, Gillian Parsons, take Ken Davis, Jr. to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, till death do you part?"_

_"I, Gillian Parsons, take thee, Ken Davis, Jr. to be my lawfully wedded husband."_

_"And do you, Ken Davis, Jr. take Gillian Parsons, to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, till death do you part?"_

_"I, Ken Davis Jr, take thee, Kristine Furillo, to be my lawfully," Junior didn't go on after the realization of what he had just said. He looked at the crowd, who was shocked, leaning forward in their seats, Gillian's half of the audience, angry and disgusted. Then, he looked at Gillian, and saw a hand coming at him. She slapped him, and ran off. He thought about chasing after her, but he ran the other direction, and Dani followed him. Junior found a small bench on the other side of the Davis Mansion, where the wedding was, and sat on it. "I could swear that's happened somewhere before..." Dani ran up to him. "Junior! What happened?!" Junior looked up at his sister. "I can't marry Gillian. I can't do it."_

_"Don't you love Gillian?"_

_"Yes."  
"Then why not?"  
"Because Gillian is not the one I just saw standing up on that altar."_

_"You saw Kris?"_

_"Yeah. I saw Kris, in Gillian's wedding dress, looking more beautiful than ever before, vowing to marry me."_

_"You haven't seen Kris in four years."_

_"I know."_

_"Then how can you still be in love with her?"_

_"That I don't know."_

_"Are you? Do you think that what happened at the altar was some sort of coincidence?"_

_"No. I don't. I love Gillian, but I want to spend the rest of my life with Kris. I knew that four years ago and I know that now. How could I have let her go?"_

_"You let her go, because..." Dani hesitated, "Because you thought she didn't love you."_

_"Right." Dani took in a deep breath and then let it out. "Junior, there's something I never told you..." He listened intently._

Dani woke up screaming. Kris opened the door. "Dani! What's going on?!"

"Oh. Bad dream."

"Oh. Well get dressed we were supposed to be on the road an hour ago." Dani was still thinking about the dream and how vivid and real it seemed. She reached over onto the nightstand and tossed the keys to Kris. "Here. Um, go warm up the car. I'll be right down." Kris was even more confused than ever. "Wait, you trust me with your car now?"

"Don't make me regret it." Kris smiled and grabbed her stuff and left the room. Dani still sat there thinking about the dream. _There's no way that's actually going to happen if I don't tell him. He won't say the wrong name at the altar. It must've been that tv show I was watching before I fell asleep last night. What was it called? Oh yeah, Friends. That's what caused the dream. It had to of been. That makes the most sense anyway. _Dani got out of bed and got ready. She was still thinking about the dream. Before she left, she flipped open her cell phone and went to her phone book. She found Junior, and now, he was one button away from knowing. She closed the phone. She took in another deep breath and closed her eyes. _I hope I don't regret this... _Dani flipped open her phone again and called her brother. "Hello?"

"Junior? Dani."

"Dani! Where are you!? Dad is going crazy! He thought you would get scared and come back by now."

"I'm not coming back. I'm gonna do this, but that's not the reason I called."

"Oh?" Junior said, sounding nervous. "What's up?" Dani was scared to say it, but she finally managed to get it out. "Junior, there is something you need to know...".


	4. Tying Up Lose Ends

_Good God what is taking Dani so long? _Kris had been sitting in the car for at least ten minutes. _I thought she was going to be right down. _Kris looked behind her at the door. Still no sign. Then she saw a pay phone. _Hmmm... _She had been debating whether or not to call Matt and let him know she was alright. She didn't want him to worry, but then she thought if she called him he would be able to find her somehow. Then at that moment she realized that unless she told him where she was that wouldn't be realistic. She got out of the car and walked over to the payphone. She dialed the numbers and listened for Matt to pick up. "Kris?" _How did he know it was me? _Then she thought he was probably worried so he greeted everyone that way for the past two days. "Yeah, it's me."

"Oh my God where are you? I'll come pick you up. Just give me a second to find my keys..."

"Matt stop."

"Stop what?"

"I don't want to be picked up."

"What? Why?"

"Your mom kicked me out you can't just go and bring me back."

"I don't care what my mom thinks."

"You should. She's right."

"No, she's not. Kris, she had no righ..."

"Yes she did, Matt. I put all of you in danger of losing the ranch."

"None of that matters Kris. I love you." Kris was quiet. "Don't you love me?"

"You know I do. But, it _does _matter Matt."

"How can you say that? How can you give up what we have?"

"It's not like this was my first choice either!"

"You don't have to make a choice! Just let me come pick you up..."

"And take me where Matt? I can't go back to your house."

"I don't know, we'll get a place in the city."

"You can't afford that and neither can I. You guys are barely holding on to the ranch as it is."

"I don't care, we had to sell all the horses anyway."

"You WHAT?!"

"My mom sold all the horses. Every single one."

"Why?"

"To pay off her debt."

"So you still have the ranch?"

"Yeah. But there's not much we can do with it."

"Well I don't think having me around is going to help anything." Matt started to get frustrated. "Is this about Junior?"

"Oh my God Matt! NONE of this is about JUNIOR! JUNIOR didn't kick me out, JUNIOR isn't with me now, I haven't even talked to him in two days!"

"How can I believe you about this when you went behind my back to do the race?"

"Because the race was not for my benefit. It was for yours. I know it backfired but I did it for you and your family."

"How do I know you didn't do it because Junior was there?"

"You've _got_ to be kidding. Matt the fact that you would even ask that question proves just how little you know me."

"I could know you better if you would let me pick you up."

"We've been through this. I have very few options right now Matt, and as much as I wish it could be, Raintree is not one of them. I was calling to tell you that I was okay and that I lo- that I love you. I'm sorry. I have to go." Kris hung up the phone. _Why was it so hard to tell him I loved him? _

"Junior, there is something you need to know..."

"Yeah?"

"I think... I think that Kris is still in love with you." She heard Junior laughing in the backround. "What's so funny?"

"Look Dani, I know you hate me right now and all because of the match race, but that was a cruel joke of yours."

"It's not a joke." Junior could sense the tone in his sister's voice. His laughing came to an abrupt stop and he was quiet. Dani could hear Junior swallowing a lump in his throat. "How do you know? Wait! Are you _with _Kris?"

"Yeah."

"What the hell? How did that happen?"

"I'm going to New Mexico, I offered to make her my partner if she rides for me. She has nowhere else to go and she agreed."

"So, is she, okay?"

"She misses you."

"What are you talking about? I think Kris made it real obvious that she loved Matt."

"God Junior sometimes you are so stupid!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Guys don't understand concepts. Kris didn't dump you because she didn't love you anymore, she dumped you because you betrayed her, as she puts it."

"So?"

"So, she couldn't get over you and it scared her so she wanted someone that she thought could make that happen, and the only person that could make that happen," he finished for her. "Was Matt."

"Right. It's the same thing I did with Bobby, trying to make me forget completely about Matt."

"Well it doesn't mean she wants me back, and even if she did, I'm with Gillian. Besides, what makes you so sure she loves me?"

"Because I went through her stuff looking for stuff that had to do with Matt. All I found was stuff that had to do with you."

"Like what?"

"Is that important?"

"Yes."

"Fine. Your cowboy hat, pictures of you guys making out in a photobooth, a napkin from Ray's cafe that said "I love you. Junior and Kris 4ever", and a couple other things but the main thing was the blanket you took with you that day you were going to have a picnic with her. She still has it, and she uses it as her blanket every night, even though she has hotel blankets that are probably warmer. And last night, I"

"You what?"

"No, never mind."  
"What?"

"It's just going to upset you."

"What? Tell me Dani."

"Last night I heard her crying. I went in there and she was under the blanket whimpering in her pillow."

"Oh no you weren't mean were you?"

"No, actually we are kind of getting along. I mean we still hate eachother but at least now we can talk."

"Is she okay? Did you ask why she was crying?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I knew why and so do you. She's waiting downstairs I have to go. I just wanted to tell you. I don't want to be held responsible for anything in the future for keeping this to myself."

"Okay. Well thanks for telling me. You're still going to talk to me right? You haven't cut me off completely? Cuz New Mexico's kind of far away."

"I'll call you. Bye Junior. And tell her I said"

"What?"

"No, nevermind. Don't say anything."

"Okay." Dani shut the phone. _Glad that load is off my chest. _She walked downstairs and saw Kris talking, or really, more like yelling, at someone on the other line. _Matt? It can't be Junior I was just talking to him. _Dani saw Kris look at her and then she hung up the phone. "Ready to go?" Dani looked at her. "Yeah." Kris tossed her the keys and they got in.

"How long till the ranch?"

"Maybe twenty more minutes. Who were you talking to on the phone?" Kris shook her head. "It's not important." Dani didn't know if she should wait until they got there to tell her she knew, or to do it in the car, or not to do it at all. She knew why Kris was crying, but she wanted to confirm it, She needed to know if she was crying because of Matt. She thought and was almost positive it was Junior but there was still a small chance that it was Matt. _I'll wait. _Twenty minutes went by. Dani pulled into a small, broken-down place. Only six stables and one racing track, and a small two bedroom house. "This is it." Kris looked around. "Okay. We'll make it bigger, right?"

"It's only a little ways away from the highway, we'll have to move somewhere bigger when the time is right. Wanna get the horses out and get them in their stables?"

"Yeah. So do we have employees?"

"Not yet. After we get some more horses maybe. But I think we can take care of two. More like one -and-a-half since Flame is only a few months." Kris nodded and went to open the trailer. She got Flame and Dani got Picoro and they put them in their stables. Both of them worked all day to get the stables up to par, and by the time they were done it was getting late. "I think we can start again tomorrow." Dani started to walk inside. "You know, actually Dani, I think I'm gonna stay in the barn tonight."

"What? It's freezing."

"We have that tall heater. I want to stay with Flame."

"Alright. Your choice." Dani started to walk away, but then turned back around and leaned up against the barn, hidden. _What does she do when she stays with the horses? What can she possibly have to talk to them about? _Kris started petting Flame.

"You know Flame? You're quite the legacy. Son of Wildfire and Belladonna." She laughed a little bit. "I actually got to watch you being born. Your foot was positioned wrong and your dad, I mean, Junior, had to keep your mother calm while I tried to position you right. I was so surprised because it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Then me and Junior watched you being born. It was so amazing. He thought so too. All we could say was the word 'incredible''. She petted Flame again. "That's why me and Junior think of you as our baby. In a way, you kind of are. If Junior and I hadn't, um," she thought of the proper way to say this, even though she knew the horse couldn't understand her anyway, she still spoke to Flame as if he were a human baby. "...if we hadn't,um, left your mom and Wildfire alone, you wouldn't have been born and if Junior wasn't there to help me I don't think either of you would be here." Kris kissed Flame's nose. "You know, I used to talk to your Daddy like this. Me and Wildfire were really close. Dani says we were on a wire. I think she was right. Maybe I'll have that with you, too." Dani heard all of this and actually felt a little bad for taking Flame away from Kris. She didn't want to hear anything else. She walked in and Kris jumped up. "Um, what's up Dani?"

"If I would have known, even I wouldn't have tried to take Flame away from you." Kris tried to play dumb. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, Kris. I heard you talking to Flame."

"How much did you hear?"

"The whole thing."

"Oh." Kris was feeling a little embarassed since she basically let all her personal history with Junior and Flame out in the open.

"I didn't know that Flame had that strong of a bond between you and Junior." Kris just looked back at Flame and smiled. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"And while none of this means we're friends, I would actually rather see you with my brother than Gillian. Gillian's annoying. You're just a pain in my ass." Kris laughed a little bit, wondering if she should take that as a compliment or insult. She took it as both. "I know he would be happier with you than he is with Gillian."

"Junior's..."Kris stopped herself, trying to let what Dani just said settle in. "Junior's with Gillian?"

"Yeah. You didn't know?"

"No. I had no idea."

"Well yeah. Gillian and Junior. But like I said, as much as I hate how you kept dangling my brother on a string, she'll _always _be second. Goodnight." Dani walked away to the house. Kris kissed Flame and ran after Dani. "Wait. It is a little cold." They both went inside and went to their rooms. Kris layed down on her bed and covered with the same blanket again. She couldn't get the picture out of her head. Gillian and Junior. Junior and Gillian. Gillian Davis. It definitely had a better ring to it than Kristine Davis, or even Kris Davis did. She sighed heavily. _I miss Junior._

**(A/N: I am always always ALWAYS open to ideas. Writing can be hard because it is so easy to lose inspiration. If you have any ideas at all please leave them in a review or you can email them to me. If I use your idea I will credit you in the beginning of the chapters you have helped me with. This way it is harder to lose inspiration and easier to keep a story going.)**


	5. Tragedy and Epiphany

Kris woke up to loud banging. It was still kind of dark outside, though the sun was starting to come up. She turned over and looked at her alarm clock. 5:45. _You've got to be kidding me. _Kris got out of bed and pulled her blanket around her because it was cold outside. She walked out and saw Dani. "Dani, WHAT in the world are you doing?" Dani seemed really pissed off. She threw the hammer across the dirt. "Dani? What are you doing?"

"I'm _trying _to fix this damn horse stable! A piece of the door is missing."

"Okay, I realize that. But why _now?"_

"Because we have to get started with the renovations." Dani whined. Kris grabbed Dani's shoulders and began pushing her inside the house. "Dani," she said as if she were talking to a small child in trouble, "There aren't any horses in that stall. You need to calm down and I will help you with that later. But it's REALLY cold and if you freeze to death I can't run this ranch alone." Dani started walking inside on her own, reluctantly. "Fine."

Dani ate her breakfast and decided to call Junior while Kris was sleeping. She didn't have to get up until seven, so Kris went back to bed. Dani flipped open her cell phone and dialed. "Hello?" Junior said in a groggy voice.

"It's Dani."

"I know. Who else would call when she knows I'm sleeping?" Dani ignored his comment. "Grab a pen and paper."

"AHHH why?", he whined. Dani was losing her patience. "Just do it!"  
"Alright, alright." Dani heard him rustling with papers. "Okay, what?" Dani gave him her new address. "Okay. Got it. Can I go back to bed now?"

"Yes." Dani hung up the phone. "So lazy."

Dani was setting up the training book, and by seven she had all of Picoro's training scheduled. Flame was too young for any of that, but she was going to have Kris take him for walks and play with him on the track to get his fitness developed. Dani heard a door shut behind her. She turned around to see Kris. Kris yawned and sat down next to Dani. "So, what are we doing today?"

"Well first we are going to take Flame on a long walk to get his fitness up. Then, we should be back here around ten and we will gallop Picoro and then breeze him. At twelve we can start trying to fix up the place."

"And when are we off?"

"When we can't stand up anymore."

"Oh." _Well at least I'll be busy and I won't have time to think about things. _

Dani and Kris got Flame out and began their walk. Dani decided she couldn't remain quiet forever. She needed to know some things. For her sake and her brother's. "Kris? Where did you get that blanket?" Kris looked at Dani, eyes wide. Dani could tell she was scared."

"You know, the red one you always cover up with. Did Matt give it to you? Because I noticed you use it even though it's not very warm and you have a comforter." Kris didn't know whether she should tell Dani it was Junior's or Matt's blanket. "Yeah, um, Matt gave it to me." Dani didn't know where to go from here. It was obvious Kris didn't want to let her know she had feelings for Junior. She knew why. When Kris and Junior were together Dani _hated _it. _Still, after I told her yesterday that I would rather see her with Junior than Gillian, why wouldn't she tell me?_ Kris was thinking to herself. _Crap. What now? _Dani knew how to trap Kris into admitting it was Junior's, but she wanted Kris to tell her. She wondered why. _Why does she telling me make a difference? I should be fine as long as I know. Maybe..._ Dani shook her head. There was no way she wanted Kris to confide in her. She didn't want her to and even if she did, she wouldn't expect her to, after all that's happened. Dani's cell phone rang. "Hello?" Kris breathed a sigh of relief. _Saved by the ringer. _

"Dani? It's Matt."

"Oh, what?"

"I don't know where you are, but you need to get back here, NOW." Dani heard the sense of urgency in his voice. "Why, what happened?"

"Junior's hurt." Kris looked suspicious and gave Dani a "What's going on?" look. Dani hung up the phone. She was so shocked and scared. Junior was her brother, her flesh and blood. She saw Kris look at her with a worried expression on her face. "Junior's..." She tried to finish, but as soon as she said the name Junior, she saw Kris' face grow at least ten shades lighter. "Junior's what?!" She heard Kris try to speak with the lump in her throat that was her trying to cry. Kris tried not to let it show, but it was obvious. Even Flame knew something was wrong and he rubbed his nose against Kris' leg. "Junior's hurt." She saw Kris go from worried, to panicked. "Okay. Um, I'll go get the car, no wait, I'll take Flame and you get the car, no we'll both run back with Flame and we'll get in the car and we'll go." She started to go on but Dani stopped her. "Kris, we can't leave the horses here with no employees. We need to get the horses into the trailer, it's already hooked up to the Escalade. Then we will drive there." Kris was back to worried now. "But it will take two or three days! What if..." Dani didn't want her to say it. She didn't want Kris to mention or even think about the possibility of losing Junior. "No it won't, I'll drive for as long as I can, then I'll sleep and you drive. If we keep switching shifts, we'll be there in maybe twenty hours. Less if you drive like you just stole the Escalade." Dani smiled a little bit, as much as she could. Kris let out a small grin as well. "Consider it stolen."

They had gotten back to the Escalade and gotten the horses into the trailer in less than five minutes and they were both out of breath. Dani climbed into the driver's seat and Kris into the passenger's. She took off as fast as she could, leaving a trail of dust. She had gotten onto the highway and glanced over at Kris. She could see tears running down Kris' cheeks, soaking her t-shirt. She didn't even bother to wipe them away. She just let them come. Dani felt like crying, too, but she was doing as best as she could holding it back so that it wouldn't affect her driving. It started to rain, but that didn't slow Dani down at all. It was twelve pm when they crossed into Arizona. Time seemed to be on their side, but, they still had to cross one-and-a-half states to get to Junior. Kris took a deep breath. She was still crying, looking out the window at the rain. She hadn't moved her head the entire trip, and she kept it that way even when she started to talk to Dani. "The blanket was not Matt's." Dani was shocked that Kris told her. It was probably the situation that had changed her mind, but still, Kris told her. Dani felt a little happiness inside despite all the pain that she was feeling. She still didn't view Kris as a friend, but it was nice to have a girl who could hold her own, just as Dani could, to talk to. Her and Kris had been through the same general experiences, just in very different ways. "I know." Kris finally looked up. "You know?"

"Yeah. I know the blanket is Junior's."

"How do you know?" Kris asked her, very confused. Dani's mind quickly shot back to that day.

_She had been eating cereal. She saw Junior skipping down the staircase, with a basket and blanket in hand. "What are you so happy about?"She said with her mouth full. Junior's face lit up when he mentioned her name. "Kris and I are going on a picnic today." _

_"Since when do you like going on picnics?"_

_"Since she is going to go with me." _

At that time, it had made Dani sick to her stomach, but now, it made her smile a little bit. She didn't know why. So much had happened with Kris and Junior after that, she didn't know how she could possibly smile or even bear to look at her now. "Junior came downstairs with that blanket and a picnic basket. When I asked him where he was going, he told me you and him were going on a picnic." The memory of the picnic made Kris grin a little as well. That was a good day. _I mean that was a goooood day. Until it was over. Then everything I had I lost, and it was my fault. My stupid decision. _"Oh."

"Kris?" _Oh no. _Kris knew what was coming. _I know what she's going to ask, I know what she's going to ask. _She kept rethinking in her head. "Are you still in love with my brother?" _Yup. There it is. _Kris thought. She didn't know what to say to Dani. If she said no, there was a rather large possibility that Dani would know that she was lying. If she said yes, she was afraid Dani would chew her head off about her and Junior and how she kept leading him on. She decided that she could say no, but Dani would find out anyway and it would just put off the head-chewing. "Yes." Dani felt incredibly angry but incredibly happy at the same time. She was silent at first, deciding which emotion to act upon. She decided first to get the scoop on Kris' feelings for Matt, before deciding how to feel about Kris and Junior. "Kris? Why not something Matt gave to you?"

"I REALLY don't want to go into any of this." Kris thought Dani was just trying to make her feel guilty. For Junior, and for Matt. Dani looked at Kris again. "Please? I really want to know. I don't know why, but I do." Kris sensed the sincerity of what Dani had just said. "Because," she was going to go on, but she decided to leave it at "because". She knew Dani was going to want more out of her. "Kris..."

"Because I don't think I really loved Matt." Dani wasn't expecting her to say that. She didn't know what she was expecting to hear, but she really thought that Kris _did_ love Matt." Kris started to cry more now. "For what it's worth, it's better that way." Kris got a little angry after Dani said that. "How can you say that?"

"Kris, come on. Matt and Junior are totally different. I really don't want to make you feel worse right now, but..." Dani couldn't believe she just said that. "But, before you came here, I was the Kris Furillo."

"What?"

"Before you came, I was the one that Matt was after, constantly. I was the one that broke his heart because I told him we couldn't be together."

"Why? Why would you do that to him?"

"Because Matt was a Ritter, and I was a Davis, and as appealing as the whole Romeo-and-Juliet-forbidden-love thing was, I put my family's legacy first. I didn't know what else to do. That's why we broke up. But, I loved Matt with all my heart, and he was the only guy I ever loved. I regretted my decision because I knew I still loved Matt and I wanted to be with Matt. He told Junior things, and Junior told me, trying to get us back together. I finally decided that I wanted to be with Matt, despite the fact that we were enemies, and I was going to tell him. But, then you showed up at the farm and all-of-a-sudden he lost interest. Kris, Matt slept with four women in less than two years. And he THOUGHT, that he loved each of the ones that he slept with, but he didn't. He never loved me, he never loved Gillian, and he never loved Tina. And Kris, I'm really sorry, but Matt is only going to be interested until someone else comes along. He has a lot of growing up to do. He doesn't know how to love someone." Much to Kris' surprise, hearing what Dani said didn't seem to bother her much at all. And all the pieces seemed to come together. "Matt is a great guy, and a wonderful friend, but he's confused. He needs to figure out what he wants and to stick with it." Kris actually believed Dani. "Seems about right."

Dani noticed that Kris looked like there was something else. "What?" Dani asked her. "So what can you tell me about Junior?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is Junior just another Matt?"

"No. I know you think I'm biased because he is my brother, but Junior has never been the same since you came into his life. At first he was at least 100x happier, then after what happened with Tina Sharp and the Sandpiper, he was so much worse. You don't even know. Then one day he is incredibly happy because he thinks you guys are getting back together, then the next he is worse than before because he find out it wasn't true. That happened a lot Kris." She could see the look in Kris' eyes and she saw that she felt bad for all that happened with her and Junior. _She really does love my brother. She's not all that I thought she was. _Dani still didn't view Kris as a friend, but she was starting to regain respect for Kris after seeing how she really is and not just what Dani saw before. "Junior sweet-talked a lot of girls before he met you, but he NEVER told any of them that he loved them. You were the only one. And he still loves you. He does." Kris smiled wide and managed to stop tearing. She was still really upset, not just that Junior had been hurt, but also that she wasted time for a stupid reason. "Kris, Gillian will never be you to him."

"Thank you Dani."

"Don't say that. I'm telling you this because you have the right to know. Now please, don't use what I just told you for my brother's destruction. Again." Kris only nodded in agreement. _There's no way I would ever want to again. I cared deeply for Matt but I never loved him. I love Junior and I always have._

**(A/N: Sorry to everyone who likes Matt, but I didn't know how else to give Kris closure for Matt, and I have to do that to get her and Junior together.)**


	6. Apologies and Confessions

"So who was on the phone?" Kris asked Dani after they switched drivers. "Matt."

"Did he say how Junior got hurt?," she tried to say without crying.

"No. I think he was going to. But I was in shock so I just kind of, hung up."

"So how much longer you think?"

"I don't know. Maybe eight hours." Dani's phone rang again and Kris' heart stopped. Dani looked up at Kris with tears in her eyes. "It's my dad..." Kris now started to tear up as well. _Oh God, please no. Please. _

Dani closed her eyes and prepared for the worst. "Dad?" She could hear the sadness in her father's voice. "Dani? Where are you?"

"Dad, is Junior..."

"No, he's not gone. But it doesn't look good at all. I'm scared Dani, for my son. He's slipping in and out of a coma." Dani started to break down and Kris thought that meant the worst. She pulled over and got out of the car. She walked over to the cliff and looked out at the horizon ahead of her. Dani focused her attention back to her conversation. "How was he hurt?"

"I'll tell you when you get here. Is Kris there with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Junior asked for her when he was being wheeled in to the ambulance."

"She'll be there." She heard Ken Davis Sr. hang up the phone.

Dani hopped out of the car and walked over to Kris, and stood by her, looking out at the horizon. Kris was crying, of course. "You always think you'll get another chance. I made that mistake twice."

"What was the first time?"

"I thought we lost Junior when they found his porsche in the river. Then he showed up." Dani turned to Kris. "Well luck isn't _completely _against you. My dad called to say Junior was getting worse, but he's still here." Kris looked at Dani and then sprinted back to the Escalade. "Come on Dani hurry!" Dani climbed back in and rested her eyes. Then she fell asleep and had another dream about her brother and his future.

_Dani was standing in the middle of Davis ranch. There was not a soul in sight, not even a horse. It was foggy, then out of the fog came running a little girl about the age of four. She reached out her hands while yelling "Dani!" excitedly. Dani took her in her arms and knew she loved the child, but didn't know why. She had never seen the child before. The moment the child jumped into her arms the fog lifted and the sun came out. "Incredible", was all Dani could say. She put the child down and looked at her, trying to find out if she had seen her before. "How does she know my name?" She saw Junior's eyes. Junior had beautiful, big eyes. This was definitely Junior's kid. Then the little girl smiled. Such a beautiful smile. Where have I seen that smile before? She realized that the girl had Kris' smile and cheekbones. "Junior and Kris' daughter?", she thought to herself. But then, she saw the long blonde hair with darker blonde streaks that looked so much like Gillian's. "What?" Then she saw the girl's nose and skin tone, that of Rebecca's. "Huh?" Dani asked the girl, "Is your mommy here?" The little child nodded a yes and then pointed her finger towards the barn. Dani looked over, but couldn't make the girl out. It could have easily been either one of them. _

Dani felt a push and woke up. It was Kris. "Dani, we're here." She looked at her watch. 9 pm. "Kris, how did you get here so fast?"

"You told me to drive like I stole the car."She managed to smile a little bit. Kris got out and ran inside and Dani followed. Kris ran to the front desk at the hospital so fast that she ran into the desk,out of breath. "Where can I find Junior Davis?" Dani caught up to her. "What is your relationship to Mr. Davis?" Kris knew what the nurse was going to say when she said, "He's my friend."

"Then I'm sorry but I'm not authorized to release that information to you." Dani spoke up. "Well I'm his sister so stop wasting our time and tell me where I can find him damnit!" The nurse gave Dani a look. "454." Dani and Kris ran down the hall and the nurse called after them. "NO RUNNING!" Kris and Dani heard but ignored her, and they reached an elevator. When they got inside Dani pushed the button for the fourth floor. As soon as the door opened on the fourth floor Kris sprinted out as if she were a horse in a starting gate. _God she runs fast. _Dani went after her. They turned right at the end of the hall and Kris pushed open the door labeled "Intensive Care Unit". As soon as the door opened Jean, Pablo, Todd, Ken Davis Sr, Matt, and Gillian turned their heads. They saw the two worried girls and Ken Davis stood up and went to hug his daughter. He acknowledged Kris. Matt ran up to Kris and tried to kiss her but she put her hand in front of his face. "Not right now. Your friend is in a coma." She said, disgusted at him for thinking about her instead of Junior at that moment. "You're right. Sorry."

Pablo could see the pain in Kris' eyes and held her. She buried her face in his jacket and began to cry. Ken looked at Pablo moving Kris back and forth, trying to calm her. He saw how much pain she was in. And at that moment, he finally knew that Kris really did love his son, not for his money, but for him. He looked back at his daughter, buried in his jacket, and kissed the top of her head and began to move her back and forth as Pablo was doing with Kris. Ken's mind went back to what had happened.

_"Junior!", he called from inside his office. Junior had been in the kitchen eating his lunch when he went into his office. "Junior! I need you to sign some documents!" Junior must not have heard him. He looked at his watch. Two o'clock. No wonder Junior wasn't still in the kitchen, it had been two hours since he went into his office. "Wow time went by fast." Ken got up from his desk and went to find Junior. He wasn't in his room, he checked in the rest of the house and nothing. He went outside, and didn't see anything. He started to go back inside when he noticed something in the corner of his eye. It was Junior, lying on the ground next to a familiar black stallion named Belladonna. He was motionless. Ken ran to his son. "JUNIOR!" No response. He lifted his son's head to find a small pool of blood. His head was split open. Ken's shaky hands did their best to reach into his pocket and grab his cell phone. He dialed 911 and the ambulance arrived in less than five minutes. The paramedics checked for his vital signs and found a pulse, though it was fading fast. "Your son has a pulse, but we need to get him to the hospital right away." Ken did his best not to cry as he watched his son being wheeled off into the ambulance. Ken got in and rode to the hospital with him. Junior was unconscious. Ken tried talking to him. He asked the paramedic if there was any chance that he would regain consciousness before they reached the hospital. "Probably not, but in very, very rare cases some patients regain consciousness, but even if he did, it would only remain for a few seconds." Ken looked at his son. He saw Junior turn his head towards his father and open his eyes. Junior groaned with the pain that ate at him. Ken's eyes opened wider when he saw Junior look at him and he grabbed his hand. "Dad..." Junior managed to say. "Yes son? What is it?"_

_"Call Kris." Junior closed his eyes again. "Five seconds is a record." He heard the paramedic say. He didn't know how to get a hold of Kris. He did the only thing he could think of. He called Matt. _

_"Hello?"_

_"Matt, this is Ken Davis. I need you to tell me where to find Kris."_

_"Well Junior said yesterday that she was with Dani. Why? What happened?"_

_"I'll tell you more later, but Junior is in the hospital. Room 454. Please let everyone know, and Dani didn't give her cell phone number to me, can you call her and tell her to come and bring Kris?"_

_"Of course I will. I'll be there as soon as I can."_

Mr. Davis took his daughter's hand and the two of them sat down. Pablo did the same with Kris. "Can we see him?" Kris asked. Matt looked annoyed. "Not yet. Maybe in an hour or so." Dani looked up at her father. "Dad, what happened?" Ken didn't want to repeat it, but everyone needed to know. "I called Junior, but he didn't respond so I went outside to look. I saw him lying on the ground next to Belladonna. I ran to him, and I screamed his name, but he just laid there, motionless. Belladonna was sattled and everything, so I'm guessing he was riding her. I found him next to the gate and I lifted up his head and found a pool of blood. She probably threw him off of her and he hit the gate and split open his head. He was hit hard." Dani started to cry again and Ken comforted her. Everyone looked at Kris. She wasn't crying, but she was staring straight ahead, hardly even blinking. She looked really pale. Matt sat next to her and rubbed her shoulders. "Kris, are you okay?" She didn't say anything. She kept staring, straight ahead, at the door labeled "454".

It took about five minutes, but Kris snapped out of it. She got up angrily. "I'm going for a walk." She walked fast out the door. Matt tried to follow her, but Jean looked at him with a look that said no. For once, he listened to his mother. Kris didn't know where she was going. She hit the button to the elevator and just before the doors shut, someone put their hand inside and walked in. Kris couldn't believe Gillian followed her. "You still love Junior don't you?" Kris held back her tears. "Now's not the time for this, Gillian."

"It's as good a time as any. Why did you want Matt?" Kris was so angry that Gillian was pursuing this, but she really wasn't strong enough to deal with it all. So she told the truth. "I thought I loved Matt. I was wrong. It all became obvious to me in the past few days. It was always Junior. I guess I was trying to get over Junior and I thought Matt could help me do that, but, at the time, I thought I really loved Matt." She turned to Gillian. "I'm sorry. I really am. I know how you felt for Matt. And I have no intention of taking Junior from you. As soon as he is fine I'm out of here. You don't have to worry about that." The door opened and Kris started to walk out, but Gillian grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back into the elevator. "And why not? Don't you love Junior?"

"Of course I love Junior. I always have. I always knew I did, I just tried to cover it up."

"Kris you know Junior's heart was always and always will be yours. I know that as well." Kris was shocked. "What?"

"Junior and I are just a sort-of fling. It's just for fun. I still have deep feelings for Matt and it's obvious Junior still has deep feelings for you. I have no problem with you going after Junior. I want him to be happy. He's a wonderful person." Kris hugged Gillian. Gillian didn't see it coming. Kris once again tried to hold back her tears. "Thank you SO much!" She let go. "Kris?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't hurt Junior again. Please. He really loves you and he doesn't deserve it."

"I know." Kris still felt horrible about the whole thing. "I won't. I SWEAR."

"Good." Kris looked down at her shoes, now she was feeling guilty about Matt. "What am I going to do about Matt?"

"Matt will be fine. He gets over everybody easily. I don't think Matt loved me, but I know he cared for me. Maybe, him and I could work things out."

"I think you could really make him happy."

"I hope so, and, I know it's a longshot, but I also would really like you and I to be friends."

"That's not a longshot." Kris said smiling. "I'm really sorry Matt."

"I know you are. Thanks." They both smiled at each other and walked out into the cafeteria. "How about some hospital jello?" Gillian suggested. For the first time in a while, Kris laughed. "Ew."

Kris and Gillian were back in the waiting room in about forty minutes and brought everyone some lime jello. Everyone muttered a "thanks." The nurse came out. "Junior's condition is stable enough to allow you to see him, for those of you that want to. Alot of people prefer not to see their loved ones in comas. But it's your decision." They all got up and the nurse spoke up again. "But, we would like only one of you in there at a time." Ken went in first. He shut the door quietly behind him and pulled up a chair next to Junior. He grabbed Junior's hand. "I'm sorry, son. I'm sorry that I expected you to become me instead of letting you have your own dreams. And, I'm sorry I didn't get to sooner when you were hurt. I'm sorry that I made you make Tina an offer for the Sandpiper, and most of all, I'm very sorry that I had something to do with you and Kris. I thought she was in it for everything that the rest of the girls were. I see now that she's not." Ken squeezed his son's hand tighter. "I called Matt and asked him to tell Dani and Kris to come. She's here. She's waiting to see you in the waiting room, along with your sister, Gillian, Matt, Pablo, and even Jean and Todd came when they heard what happened to you. I guess, I should give them their time with you." Ken walked out of the room and motioned for Dani to go in.

Dani sat next to Junior in the chair that her father was in. She looked at her brother, just lying there, helpless. Dani wasn't sure of what to say to him. "You know Junior, I had a couple of weird dreams the past few nights. In one you were marrying Gillian but instead of saying her name you said Kris'. Then in the other one I saw your daughter at four years old. She had your eyes and Kris' smile and cheekbones, but she had Gillian's hair, and Rebecca's nose and skin tone, so I couldn't tell which one her mother was. That dream was probably something that my subconscious brain thought up and played out in my sleep, and not the future, cause obviously your daughter wouldn't have three mothers." Dani laughed a little bit. "Sometimes I'm so crazy huh?" She looked at Junior again. "It's amazing how fast four years goes by. I mean you and Matt are already twenty-one and I'll be twenty-one in March, and I _think _I remember you telling me that Kris' birthday was on January eighth, so she'll be twenty-one in four days. Wow. Time flies by doesn't it?" Dani couldn't really think of anything else to say, she she got up and walked out, after telling Junior that she loved him.

"Kris? You wanna go?" Dani asked her, sympathetically. Kris shook her head. "I don't think I can handle it yet. You guys can go first." Matt got up and went to talk to Junior. "You win man. You won the bet. I mean Kris and I were together and she was happy, but I know she was happier with you. It kind of hurts. I knew she was yours all along, I just thought that maybe, I could make her forget about you and we could be happy together. But I can't. It's obvious to me now. I don't know how you do it. But anyway, dude, are you crazy? Belladonna? What were you thinking? I mean I know you think you're invincible and all but _Belladonna?_" Matt laughed a little bit. "Anyway, I hope you get better soon." Matt walked out the door and Jean went in to say a few words to Junior, and then Pablo, and then Todd. Meanwhile, Matt pulled Kris off to the side.

"Matt I really don't want to discuss this right now."

"It's not what you think it is. I see what you are feeling right now."  
"What do you see?"

"I know your feelings for Junior never went away. I know you still love him, and it's killing you to see him lying lifeless in that bed right now." Kris said nothing, just looked down at her shoes. "Kris, it's okay. I mean, it hurts. But you were always number one in his eyes and he was always number one in yours. I know you loved me too, at some point, if not in the same way, at least as friends."

"You're like my brother Matt, you really do mean a lot to me, but..."

"I know. I'll get over you. I will. I don't want you to worry. Hey, I did once before ya know." Kris hugged Matt. "I'm sorry, and I know it's becoming REALLY old for me to say that, but I am." Kris was referring how first she said it to Matt, then to Junior, then to Gillian, then to Junior again, and now to Matt again. "I know you feel bad. I can tell. You have the same look on your face after you told Junior about us."

"I do?"

"Yeah. And yeah, it hurts now, but I know everything will be fine. Especially with you so far away, I mean it will suck not seeing you, but I know it will give me the chance to completely get over you." Kris smiled. She felt like a load had been lifted off of her shoulders. "What about Gillian?"

"I think fate wants me with Gillian. She keeps coming back into our lives. And, I think, that's what I want, too."

"That's great Matt. I know she still loves you and you guys will be great together." Kris hugged Matt one last time. The two of them walked back into the waiting area and Kris saw Todd come out of Junior's room. Matt pulled Gillian aside now, to try and reconcile. Todd came over to Kris and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry you're sad, Kris." Todd was like a little brother to Kris, and Kris was like a big sister to Todd. "Thanks buddy." Pablo looked at Kris. "You're up."

**I kind of made Matt the bad guy in the last chapter so I made him the good guy in this one. Hopefully that evens things out. Hope you liked it. **


	7. Sense of Touch

Kris looked at Pablo, then at everyone else. She was so scared. She didn't want to see him hurt, and when Ken told them what happened, she could picture it, and it was bad. She wasn't sure if she wanted to face the reality. She didn't move. "Kris?" Pablo asked again. "I'm sorry, I can't right now. I don't want to see him hurt. I really can't handle it right now." Jean got up, and everyone but Kris, Dani, and Ken did the same. "Well we should probably get going." Jean turned to Ken. "Call us if there is anything new, okay?" He nodded in agreement. Soon it was just Ken, Dani, and Kris in the waiting room. Mr. Davis' cell phone rang. "Ken Davis." He walked away, but was still within hearing range of Kris and Dani. "They what?" Kris and Dani looked up at him. "I can't, is there anyone else who can do it?" Dani got up and asked her father what's going on. "Ca-can you hold on a second?" "Thanks." He turned to Dani. "Avatar got out and took Belladonna with him, they need us at the ranch."

"One of us has to stay here with Junior."

"There's two horses." Kris interrupted. "If they really need you guys, I can stay." Dani looked at Kris. "You know you would actually have to go _in _the room right?"

"Yes." She glared at Dani. "Can you do that Kris?"

"Yeah. I can. You guys go get the horses and get everything settled at the ranch, I'll call you if anything changes." Ken nodded and thanked her for staying with him. She watched them both walk through the doors.

She walked up to his door, then turned around. Then walked up to his door, then turned around again. This was hard. She was scared. _Okay Kris you can do this. He needs someone to sit with him through the night. _Kris took a deep breath and let it out. She closed her eyes and opened the door. _Okay. On the count of three. One, two, three. _She opened her eyes and looked at Junior. One side of his face was swelled up and he had a huge cut going across all the way from his forehead through his left eye to his lip. His head was wrapped in bandages and both of his arms were badly scratched up too, probably from sliding across the dirt. He looked so miserable. She couldn't bear it and she almost passed out from the sight of Junior in this much pain. She made her way over to the chair and started to cry. She layed her head back and she fell asleep.

She woke up and looked at the time. She had been sleeping only two hours. Junior hadn't moved an inch. He was still unconscious. He had been the whole time. Kris didn't know that he woke up in the ambulance to ask his dad to call her. No one told her that part. _Wow. Probably the last thing he remembers is thinking, "I think I'm gonna ride Belladonna today." I TOLD him she almost killed a guy what was he doing?! _She looked at his face and a tear fell from her eye. Then more came. She had never felt this sad, or this scared, in her entire life. She wanted to touch him, she wanted to hold his hand through the night but she only thought it would bring more pain. She just sat there, staring at him, for half an hour. She was thinking about going to sleep, but she wanted to stay awake in case he woke up. She got up and went to get some coffee. She heard someone behind her. "Mrs. Davis?" She smiled at the sound of that, but regained focus and turned around. It was the nurse that was taking care of Junior. Kris was going to correct her and tell her that they were "just friends", but that wasn't important right now. "Is he okay? Did something happen?"

"Oh no, no, he's fine dear. I just wanted to see how you were holding up."

"Well, I can't say I'm fine." She let out a small smile. "But I appreciate you asking."

"Anytime." The nurse walked away. She guessed she was on her break. Kris walked back up to Junior's room and sat back down in the chair. She finished her coffee and threw it away.

She knew it was going to hurt, but she was going to have to talk to him sometime. _If he can even hear me. They say you can hear people while you're in a coma. Maybe you can. _She looked at Junior. _Where do I even start? _She decided to start with something light. "Hey. How are you? Oh God why am I even asking that? I know the answer to that. What the hell were you _doing_ on Belladonna? You KNOW how dangerous she is Junior. You are so crazy, and so spontaneous, but, that must be one of the reasons that I love you." She didn't know what else to say, she didn't know if she should tell him her and Matt broke up or anything else until he was awake. She smiled and looked at him. She reached her hand over and interlocked her fingers with his. As soon as her hand touched his she heard a loud beeping noise and she panicked. The nurse came in, running to see what was wrong.

Kris still had her hand in Junior's when the nurse ran in. "What's wrong?!" The nurse looked at the heart monitor and then back at Kris. "That's truly remarkable?" Kris was really confused now. "Um, what?"

"Junior's pulse just shot up twenty beats per minute."

"Is that, good?"

"That is amazing. These machines are brand new and they are constantly taking new readings. So if it was a glitch, it would have been gone by now."

"So, he's gonna be okay?" She said with a huge smile on her face. The nurse's mood dropped a little bit. "Well, we still don't know, but this is a major improvement. His brain waves are more close together, showing more activity. He could wake up soon." Kris was still so happy that he was better. She knew they weren't out of the woods. "Were you talking to him?"

"Yeah, but I stopped and the machine didn't start beaping until about five minutes after that."

"Hm. Then I don't know what caused it, but that's miraculous in my opinion." The nurse left the room. Kris was a lot happier now that she knew Junior could wake up. _What could cause it to just shoot up like that?_ Kris looked down and her hand, holding his. _Wait a minute...No, there's no way. _She squeezed his hand tighter, and she heard the machine beeping again. _No way... _She looked at his pulse, it went up five beats per minute. She looked at him. _What the hell? _She was so confused, but so happy, it COULD have been a coincidence that he improved as soon as he felt her touch, but it wasn't likely. She saw his eyelids move back and forth and then she felt her heart beating faster as well. _Oh my God is he waking up? _She saw his eyes slowly open. He was having trouble moving his mouth. "Kris?" He wanted to make sure it was her. His vision wasn't completely focused yet. Her eyes welled up with tears and then Junior's vision focused on her. "Yeah," she took her hand from his and then placed her hand against the side of his face. "I'm here."

"My dad, he called you?"

"No, Matt did."

"I told my dad to call you."

"What?"

"When they were putting me in the ambulance, I told my dad to call you, then I think I passed out. Why are you crying?"

"Why do you think?"

"Don't cry. I'm fine. You know I'm superman." She smiled. He tried to smile but couldn't. "Ouch, maybe not."

"You always will be to me."

"Stop that you're gonna make me smile." She laughed a little bit. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry."

"What? Why?" She didn't think he had any reason to be sorry for anything.

"For how I acted at the match race. And the fact that I did the match race, if I had just called the Sheik you wouldn't have lost your racing license and got kicked out of Raintree."

"Don't be. After a LOT of community service and a six-week class on animal rights and other stuff like that, I'll get it back. AND I'm co-owner of your sister's ranch."

"Congratulations. So, you're in New Mexico now? Yeah, she said, feeling a little unhappy of being so far away from him. "But I won't be going back until I KNOW that you're okay." Junior pretended to pass out again. Kris laughed. "I don't believe you."

"It was worth a shot. You said you wouldn't leave till I was better."

"And I won't." He looked into her eyes and she looked into his. "I should, call everyone and let them know." She got up and he grabbed her arm. "Wait."

"What?"

"Stay. They can come over later. It's only five in the morning. Why wake them?" She sat back down next to him. "That chair _can't _be comfortable."

"Ha it's not."

"Glad I'm not you."

"Are you kidding? I'm glad I'm not _you._"

"Can you bring me some pie?"

"Um, can you _eat _pie?"

"I can try, and I know you want to see me try."

"Guilty. Be right back."

Kris went out to get pie, when she got back, Junior was sleeping. She left the pie on his bedside table and went out into the lobby to call everyone. "Hello?"

"Jean? It's Kris."

"Oh. Hi." There was still a little tension between them both.

"Junior's awake."

"Oh that's great news. Tell Ken we will be over later today."

"Okay."

"Hello?"

"Dani? Junior's awake." Kris heard Dani shriek.

"He is?"

"Yeah, and he is his old self, he keeps crackin jokes."

"Oh that's so great!"

"Can you tell your dad for me please?"  
"Yeah. I'm getting in the car now I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Okay." She hung up.

Dani arrived and tried to go into Junior's room and Kris stopped her. "He's sleeping, so try to be quiet." They both went in. Kris let Dani have the chair and she stood. Junior woke up. Back already?"

"I was back thirty minutes ago. Your pie is over there." Kris nodded towards the pie. "Sweet!" He went to grab the pie and then Dani cleared her throat. "Hey sis."

"Don't call me that you scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry." Kris piped in. "Yeah what the hell were you doing on Belladonna you doofus?" She was trying to lighten up the fact that they were in a hospital and Junior was still in serious condition.

"I really don't know. I felt like goin for a ride, she was in the barn, I saw her, and she hadn't acted up since we bought her."

"You should have been more careful." Junior looked to Kris. "Sorry mommy." Dani then spoke up. "I agree, be more responsible!" Then Junior turned to Dani. "Sorry mommy." He managed to smile at them. Kris didn't want to leave, but she hadn't slept in more than 24 hours. "Junior, I'm sorry, but I gotta go get some sleep, I'll be back as soon as I can okay?"

"Yeah. See you later." Kris started to walk out the door when Dani stopped her. "You're not going to another motel are you?"

"Well, yeah, I mean I can't stay at the Ritter's..."

"Kris we live in a mansion. There are plenty of rooms in our house. You're gonna stay in one of them."

"Oh that's okay I don't wanna..." Dani cut her off. "It wasn't a question."

"Okay, okay. Thanks, Dani."

"Uh huh." Junior was in so much shock. He didn't know they were semi-getting along now. "What was _that _about? Are you two like, friends? How long have I been in this hospital?"

"Well, we are learning to work together because we are partners, but no we are not friends, and you've only been here a day."

"You're getting along with Kris?"

"Starting to. She's not that bad." Dani saw Junior's face light up. "Thanks."

"How was that a compliment to you?"

"Because I know I have your blessing."

"Are you going to try going after her again."

"Yeah I am."

"Junior, you know she lives in New Mexico now." His hope seemed to diminish. "I don't care. I'll wait until you guys can afford a place out here if I have to."

"She'll be glad to hear it. But are you sure you can do that?"

"I have to." 


	8. Feelings

"Junior?" He felt someone nudging him. "Yeah?" It was Dani. "I have to go home now, but Dad is coming now to stay with you and the Ritter's and Gillian will be here in a while."

"Okay. Thanks for coming, Dani." She looked at brother and then walked out and his father came in. "Hi Junior."

"Hey. Thanks for getting a hold of Kris."

"You're welcome."

"I really appreciate it. I know you don't like her and..." Ken cut him off there. "What do you mean I don't like her? Of course I do."

"What?"

"I thought she was only into you for money, until I saw her last night when she ran in through the doors."

"She _ran?_"

"Yeah. She was a mess. She couldn't even make herself go in and see you until we all had to leave. Then I knew."  
"Dad, I _told _you three years ago that she wasn't in it for the money. Why didn't you believe me?"

"Because love is blind. When you're in love you don't always see everything that is there. But you did. You're smarter than I ever was."

"Thanks, Dad." A nurse walked in. "Quite an angel, you're wife." She said to Junior. Ken gave him a look as if to say "Was there something you didn't tell me?" But then he saw Junior's face. "My uh, what?"

"You know, the girl that stayed with you, the one that made you conscious." Junior looked really confused now and the nurse could tell. "Okay, I don't have a wife, the girl that stayed with me is only a friend. She told you she was my wife?"

"No, she just didn't say she wasn't." Junior was a little happy that Kris didn't correct the nurse. "Okay. What do you mean she made me conscious? I just woke up, didn't I?"

"You were in a coma. I heard your heart monitor beeping and I went to look. It went up twenty beats per minute in less than a second. I asked her what she did and she said she had no idea. It was simply miraculous. So when I walked out of your room, I looked in the window. She was looking at her hand, holding yours. I saw her squeeze your hand tighter and your heart rate went up five more beats per minute. It seems like your heart felt what your body couldn't." Junior and Ken's jaws were wide open, even though it was slightly painful for Junior. "No that's not possible," Ken began. "When I touched Junior and his sister touched him nothing happened."

"Hm. Does this girl mean more to you than a friend should?"

**Okay I know that was REALLY short, but it's not really supposed to be a chapter, more like a filler for the next one. You already know Kris' feelings, so I'm just confirming how Junior feels about her in this chapter.**


	9. Holding Back

Kris had gotten back hom to the Davis Mansion and the maid showed her to her room. It was one of the bigger rooms in the house. There were eight rooms total, four of them with bathrooms attached. Ken, Dani, and Junior each had one, and the other was used for guests who came to visit Davis on business, because there weren't very many "suitable" hotels for many of the guests. Kris thanked the maid and put her stuff in a chair in a corner of the room. She jumped flat out on the bed like a kid coming home from a long day at school. She shut her eyes and tried to sleep, but couldn't. Junior's room was right next to her's. _I only saw it once, when I had dinner here. I wonder if it's changed in two years? _

Kris hopped off the bed and poked her head out of her door to be sure the maid wasn't watching her. The maid was new and wasn't aware of Kris' relationship to the heir of Davis, and she didn't want her to think she was snooping. She really didn't think Junior would mind. He showed it to her before. The maid was nowhere in sight so Kris snuck into Junior's room. She opened the door, and the room looked pretty much the same. He had a picture of Avatar on his nightstand, along with a picture of Wildfire and also one of Flame, in one of those five-picture divider things. She looked at the other two pictures in the frame and one was of him, Dani, and his dad, and the other was of him, her, and Matt at one of the jockeys parties. She looked to his bed, the same black, cotton sheets that he had always had, at least, since the last time she saw his room. She looked to his dresser. His stereo took up the majority of the room on top of the dresser, though he did have a shirt folded on top of it as well. _That's weird. Just one shirt, folded but not with the others in a drawer? _She opened a dreawer that she guessed was his shirt drawer, and she was right, but before she put it back in it fell to the ground. She picked it up and looked at it. It was a black shirt with a white skull on it. It looked a little small, it must've been his from when he was younger. She tried it on and it fit perfectly.

Kris sat on Junior's bed, and felt her shoe kick something underneath. It was a box. She pulled out the box and wondered if she dared look inside, but she couldn't help herself. It wasn't covered anyway. She looked inside the box, and found every copy of Modern Jockey that had her in it. _Oh wow, he kept all of these? _Kris looked underneath the magazines, and found his copy of the pictures of them in the photobooth. She also found other pictures of her and him. Some at Ray's Cafe, some on horseback, some in her trailer, etc. Other memorabilia that had to do with them was also in the box. _He kept all this stuff? Well I shouldn't be too surprised, I kept all the stuff that reminded me of him, too. _Kris slid the box back under the bed and layed her head down on his pillow. She took in his scent. He always smelled so good to her. She closed her eyes again, only this time, she fell asleep.

Dani opened the door to her house and practically skipped up the stairs. She opened the door to the guest room. "Kris!" She wasn't there. She saw her stuff piled up in the corner. _Oh, I bet I know where she is... _Dani opened the door to her brother's room, and sure enough, there she was, sleeping on his bed, wearing his really old t-shirt. _I haven't seen that thing in FOREVER. I wonder where Junior found it. _She didn't know if she should tell Kris the good news now or wait until she woke up. But, Dani was never a patient person. She shook Kris' shoulders. "Kris!" She woke up. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep in here..."

"Ah well it's not like you haven't slept in here before." She gave Kris a sly smirk.

"Um, actually, I haven't."

"Oh. Well anyways, the doctors say Junior's progression is coming along so well and so quickly that he is going to be able to come home the day after tomorrow!"

"Oh my God are you serious?"

"Yeah. So then we can get back to New Mexico and start the renovations up again." She saw Kris' smile fade and touched her shoulder. "You know we can't stay Kris."

"Yeah..." Dani didn't know what else to say to make her feel a little better. "So, what are you gonna do now?" Kris shrugged. "Well, go back to New Mexico I guess. I don't really have much of a choice."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"That is actually worth something. Thanks Dani." She just acknowledged it and walked out. Kris got out of Junior's bed and stretched from her nap. _Time to go. _

Kris arrived at the hospital. Dani stayed at Davis and Ken was just about to leave. She opened the door to Junior's room. "Hey, how's Superman doin today?" Junior's face lit up when she walked in. "Well, turns out he's not invincible." She laughed at sat next to him. "I heard you're coming home the day after tomorrow."

"I am. And just in time, too." Kris smiled because he remembered. Still, she played dumb. "Just in time for what?"

"For your birthday of course!"

"Ah it's nothing special."

"What are you talking about yes it is! You're gonna be twenty-one, and I'm taking you out for drinks."

"Um are you sure you're up to that?"  
"Of course I am." He grabbed her hand. "Time flies huh?"

"Yeah it does. We were still kids when I got here."

"Yeah, and now we are getting old."

"I'd like to think that doesn't start to happen until we're twenty-five." Just then, Junior noticed something.

"Hey, where did you find that?"

"What?" She looked down. "Oh, I'm sorry Junior, I kind of went in your room. Just cause I missed you though, I didn't like, go through your stuff." Junior looked at her as if to say, "Riiiiiiight."

"Okay I semi-lied. I didn't go through anything personal, I just looked at the pictures and I kind of found the box under your bed."

"Oh. Where was the shirt? I have been looking for that for years."

"I just found it folded on your dresser."  
"That's weird, maybe the maid found it."

"Maybe. Kinda small."

"Yeah I think the last time I wore it I was like, Todd's age. Looks like the perfect size for you though."

"Yeah I like it."

"Then you keep it. That shirt had some great memories. Keep it to remind you of me when you leave." She smiled at him. "Thanks." She didn't want to leave, and she could tell by his face that he didn't want her to leave either. But there wasn't anything they could do. "I don't want you to leave again." She knew this was going to come. She knew he would say it. "I don't either, but I don't have a choice. I co-own a farm there. I'm gonna ride again."

"Kris..."

"Look, this is something I have to do. I don't want to do it. I really don't. But if I work really hard, we could save up enough to make the down payment on the land out here and get a loan to cover the rest. It will probably be no more than a year."

"I know. I know. I'm really happy this is going well for you. I know that this has to be your first priority. I'll wait." She was a little surprised at the last thing he said. _I'll wait? _She guessed he meant wait for her. And he assumed that she wanted him to. She did, but how did he know she still loved him.

"Wait, for what?"

"Me and you. You do still love me, don't you?"

"I do." Where he got the information didn't really matter to her. He squeezed her hand tighter and leaned up to kiss her. She backed away before he could. She didn't want leaving to be any harder than it had to be. She could wait, too. "I should go." She saw the sad look on his face and started to cry when she left. "God this SUCKS!"

The next day had passed and Kris had slept in Junior's bed the last two nights. Ken and Dani brought him home and he slowly made it up to his room. He wanted to take a nap before he took Kris out for drinks later that day for her birthday. He opened his door and saw her sleeping in his bed. He watched her sleeping. He loved to watch her sleep. He couldn't help the tear in his eye from falling onto the blanket. He wanted her back so bad, but he would have to wait. He took off his shoes and layed next to her on his bed. He put his arm around her and he fell asleep as well.

Kris woke up and realized that Junior's arm was around her waist. She turned her head the other way and she saw his face, he was sleeping. _He must still be really tired. _She took her hand and grazed his face with it softly, so as not to wake him. She wanted to kiss him there, while he was sleeping. But she couldn't. Anything that happened would make it _that _much harder to leave. She noticed him stir and quickly turned her head back around. She wanted him to think she was still sleeping, not watching him. He opened his eyes and saw that she was still sleeping. He brushed her hair that was in her face back behind her ear and kissed the top of her head. She smiled, but he couldn't see it. He got out of bed and and walked over to her side. "Hey Kris?" She pretended to be waking up. "Hey."

"What are you doing in here?"

"I missed you."

"Then why didn't you stay?"

"Cause if I did something would have happened with us, and that would make it SO much harder to leave."

"You could've told me and I wouldn't have tried it again."

"But even if you didn't, had I stayed, I definitely would have." That brought a smile to his face. She got out of his bed. "So, when are we going?"

"It's five. When do you wanna go?"

"I dunno. Eight?"

"Okay. I'm gonna take a long-needed shower. Just knock on my door when you are ready to leave."

"Okay." She turned to leave and hesitated, but then got up the strength not to kiss him again and left back to her room.

Junior jumped in the shower and took one as fast as he could. He got out and got all dressed and ready. By the time he was done, it was 6:30. He walked downstairs. Dani was down there watching tv. "Dani? Has Kris come down yet?"

"No. When are you guys leaving anyway?"

"She said around eight. If she asks you where I am, please cover for me, there's something I gotta do." He walked out the door. _Wow, just a week ago he was coming out of a coma. How did he get better so fast? _

Kris took an extra long shower to relax her. It seemed like every time something great happened with her and Junior, it was always at a horrible time, and it always got taken away. _After this New Mexico thing, I need to try and make sure that doesn't happen again. _Kris turned off the shower knob and got out. She wrapped up in a towel and blow-dried her hair. After that she spent about twenty minutes figuring out just the right thing to wear. She decided on a red dress that went to her knees. **(A/N: I know a lot of people would take like five sentences describing the dress. Sorry, but I don't really see the need to spend a paragraph describing how great the neckline is. Let's just say the dress is modest and provocative at the same time, the exact kind she would wear.) **She did her makeup and put on a little perfume. She took one last look in the mirror. _Hm, I think I look twenty-one. _There was no need to cover for Junior, because he stepped inside right before Kris opened the guest room door. She walked down the staircase and he stared at her much like he did the last time she walked down a staircase all dressed up, at the charity ball. He put his arm out. "Shall we?" She linked her arm with his and they started walking out the door. "We shall."


	10. Can You Wait?

Junior and Kris walked out the door of the mansion to find a limo waiting outside. The limo driver opened Kris' door for her and she got in. He then opened Junior's door. Junior got in the other side and slid on the seat next to Kris. She watched the limo driver get in the front and start the car and close the window to the back. She leaned over to Junior and whispered, "Junior you got a limo?" Junior took the opportunity and kissed her cheek. "Kris, you don't have to whisper, that glass is thick he can't hear us." She smiled because of the kiss. "Oh."

"And yeah I got a limo I don't want either of us driving home."

"Oh yeah. I guess I haven't really thought it through." He put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulders. He kissed the top of her head. "Hey Kris?"

"Hm?"

"When the nurse called you Mrs. Davis, how come you didn't correct her?" She immediately got up. "How did you know about that?"

"She came in and said 'Quite the angel, your wife.' So I thought you told her you were, but then she said you just didn't say that you weren't. And she told me how you brought me out of a coma."

"Well she said 'Mrs. Davis' and I turned around and I was going to say something but that wasn't really important."

"Oh." He was expecting something a little more heartfelt but he didn't really mind that much cause neither of them was ready for that anyway.

The limo pulled up to Junior's old club. The driver opened the door for Junior and then for Kris. "Here we are Ma'am." She linked arms next to Junior and they walked in. "Ma'am? Do I look that old?" Junior laughed, "Of course not, he has to call you that."

"Oh thank God."

"You don't look a day over sixteen, which is why I'm really hoping that you didn't forget your ID."  
"Haha I didn't." They sat at the bar. Bobby was the bartender tonight. He and Junior exchanged handshakes, then he looked at Kris. "Furillo, how are you? Haven't seen you in awhile."

"Yeah a lot of things happened."

"In fact the last time you were here it was with Matt." Bobby wasn't trying to make Kris uncomfortable but that last statement really did. "Um okay I'll have a Long Island Iced Tea."

"Comin right up. Junior?"

"Apple Sangria."

"Okay. Be right back." Bobby walked away. "When did you come here with Matt?"

"Maybe a month ago."

"Oh. Kris?" She knew what he was going to ask. "Do you still..." he was having a hard time getting it out. "Do you still love Matt?" He shut his eyes, like that would make it any less painful had she said yes. She said nothing. He opened his eyes and looked at her. She shook her head no. "I don't think I ever did." That made Junior feel especially happy, even though it shouldn't because Matt was his best friend. "But you thought you did."

"I felt something strong for Matt, I'm not gonna lie to you. But, I felt completely different with Matt than I ever did with you. I thought nothing of it. But it turns out what I felt for Matt was more of a lust than a love."

"Do you think that's what you felt for me?"

"I know that's not what you were. You were everything to me. I never wanted to break up with you but you hurt the Ritters, and that's the same thing as hurting me." Junior didn't know what to say next. Good thing Bobby was done pouring their drinks. "Here you go, Long Island Iced Tea for the lady, and a Apple Sangria for Mr. Davis." Both of them said thanks to Bobby simultaneously. Kris took a sip of her drink and set it down. Junior was a little surprised. "You like it?"

"I wouldn't have ordered it if I didn't." He smiled and she smiled back. They both turned their heads when they heard Bobby on the microphone. "Hey how are you guys all doin? Thanks for coming, and you all know what tonight is... Everyone in the club turned their heads to Kris. Kris leaned towards Junior. "Um, what's tonight?"

"You'll see." The spotlight turned onto Kris. "Kris Furillo turns the famous twenty-one tonight." Everyone in the club said happy birthday to Kris. "Junior I don't know any of these people."

"I know I asked Bobby to inform them before we came."

"Aw. Thanks Junior." The music came back on.

About and hour passed by and both of them were a little tipsy. "Anything else for you guys?" Bobby asked. Kris shook her head no. "No I think we're done." Junior told him. He got up and gave his arm to Kris. She was smaller than he was so she was a little more tipsy than he was. "So are we going home?"

"Not yet."  
"There's _more_?"

"Yeah. Just a little bit." The limo driver opened the door for them for the last time that night. Kris was a little quiet in the limo. "Are you okay Kris?"

"Yeah I'm fine." He didn't believe her. "Are you sure?" She said yes. Kris was thinking about how she was going to handle being away from Junior so long. _Maybe I shouldn't go back... No of course I shouldn't go back, but I have to go back. How am I going to deal with a year away from him? I couldn't even deal with a few days when I got kicked out of raintree. _

The limo pulled up at the Davis house and the limo driver both let them out. "Ready to go inside?"

"Sure." They walked in and everyone jumped up and yelled happy birthday. "Oh my God hi you guys!" Ken, Dani, Matt, Gillian, Jean, and Todd were there. Junior sat down and patted the seat on the couch next to him. She sat down next to him and the others sat down too. Todd spoke up. "Hey Kris are you ready to open your presents?"

"Okay. Can I open yours first?" Todd was overjoyed. "Duh!" He got his and gave it to her. It was a heart locket. She opened it up to find a picture of Todd on Wildfire. "Now you will always remember me and Wildfire." Kris smiled and held the locket close to her heart. "Thanks Todd, I love it. But even if the locket didn't have a picture of you and Wildfire, I would never forget you." Todd had a big smile on his face. Jean handed Kris her present, then Ken, then Matt and Gillian gave her theirs. "Here Kris." Dani handed something to Kris. She opened it. It was a black cocktail dress that glittered and went almost to the floor. "This is a really pretty dress Dani, I love it."

When it got to be around ten o'clock everyone had to leave. "Well, I'm going to bed, too. Good night kids." Ken walked upstairs. Dani got up. "I'm a little tired also. We head home tomorrow. Sound good?" She looked at Kris who looked a little upset. "Right." Of course it didn't sound good. It didn't even sound good to Dani. She still wasn't friends with Kris, but she liked to see her brother happy, and she was beginning to like Kris. A little bit. "Okay. Well I'll see you guys in the morning then." Dani walked upstairs. Kris looked up at Junior. He had the most gorgeous eyes. She felt powerless when she was looking into those eyes. "I should..." Junior grabbed her arm. "Wait, don't you want to open my presents?"  
"Seriously?"

"Yeah, come on." He pulled her outside. "Um Junior what kind of present can be in the barn?"

"You'll see."

Junior walked in front of Wildfire's stall and looked at him. Kris' heart stopped when she saw the bow around his neck. "Junior! How could you? How did you? What does your dad think?"

"He thinks that you and Wildfire have a strong bond and you should be together, so he let me buy him for you."

"Really? Your dad let you buy him?"

"Nah, it took a little convincing." She punched him in the arm playfully. She opened the gate and started to pet Wildfire. "Hey boy." Junior's smile was so bright, watching her pet Wildfire, who was finally hers. She deserved him after this long. "Junior this must've cost you a fortune you have to let me pay you back."

"No, I bought him for you. You deserve him Kris. After three years? Come on."

"Still, I can't believe you did this."

"I just, like to see you happy." She jumped into his arms. She was SO tempted to kiss him. She got down from his arms. She had to hold back. "Junior, I can't even _begin _to tell you how happy this makes me. How happy YOU make me. Thank you SO much!" She hugged him again. "Maybe we should go now."

"I'll walk you to your room." He held out his arm again.

"Ah, such a gentleman." They both laughed and she took his arm.

The two of them walked upstairs and stopped in front of Kris' bedroom. Junior stopped Kris before going inside. "Wait. I want to give you my other present. " He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box. He opened it and took the necklace out. Kris looked at it and her eyes started to form tears. "Wow. Thank you. It's beautiful."

"Turn around." She did as he said and he put the necklace on her. She looked at it, it was two hearts, interlocked, made of gold. She turned around again and Junior kissed her, only this time, she didn't stop it. She was scared at first, thinking of how much worse it would be to leave now, on her and on him. But, she sunk into it. She knew this would cause more pain when it was time to leave but, her emotions overtook her and she couldn't help it. Junior pulled back. He looked down and Kris could tell he felt bad for kissing her. She just looked at him, into his eyes. "Kris, I'm sorry. I know you said..." She stopped him. She threw herself into his arms again and began to kiss _him_ this time. She pushed him into her room and pushed her body forward, causing him to fall on the bed. She kept kissing him. He stopped her for a moment. He knew she was still a little tipsy. "Kris, do you want to do this or are you drunk?"

"I want to do this."

Kris woke up the next morning with an arm around her. She turned and saw Junior, when she moved her head he opened his eyes and they ended up staring each other in the face. He kissed her. "Good Morning."

"Good morning." She was glad that she did what she did the night before, she just wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. She looked at Junior. "Something wrong?"

"No."

"You should tell me these things and maybe I can help you. I know that you always dealt with your problems on your own growing up, but, you don't have to do that anymore Kris. I'm always here for you." She smiled. "Honestly, I'm scared to death to leave."

"Why?"

"Junior whenever something great happens with us it's always at a very bad time. It always gets taken away." Junior didn't know how to console her because he knew she had to go back so there wasn't much that he could do. "I'm sorry Kris, but after New Mexico..."

"After New Mexico whose to say that it won't get taken away again?"

"I am. I'm sick of this and I won't let it happen again. Kris I will do WHATEVER it takes." She felt bad for making him wait but great at the same time because there was still a chance for her to be with the only guy she's ever really loved.She looked into his eyes and they started kissing again until she heard a knock on the door next to Junior's. "Kris! Are you in there! It's time to go!" Kris jumped out of the bed, covered in a sheet. "Crap! What do I do?"

"I don't know, um..." Dani knocked on Junior's door and Kris crawled under the bed. She opened the door. "Have you seen Kris? We have to leave. "She should be in her room." Dani shut the door and went to look for her downstairs. Kris opened Junior's door and quietly snuck into her room and got dressed. She put on her shoes quickly and she heard Dani coming back up the steps. She opened the door and ran right into Dani. "Hey."

"Kris?"

"What?"  
"What's up with your hair?" Kris realized that she forgot to brush her hair. "I um, forgot to brush it."

"You must move around a lot when you sleep."

"Yeah." That's a good excuse. She got away. Until Dani spoke up again. "Or that would be it if I hadn't seen a black sheet wrapped around something under Junior's bed." She crossed her arms. Kris closed her eyes. _Damn, so close. _Junior walked out. "Hey Kris hey Dani good morning." Dani looked at him. "Uh huh. For you guys." Junior looked at Kris, who then winced when Dani said "for you guys". Junior didn't know what to say. "Heh, um, I'll help you get your stuff packed Kris." He walked into her room. "I'll see ya in a little bit Dani." Kris shut the door. "You guys better be packing in there!"

Kris didn't bring much stuff because she was in a hurry to get to Junior when they left New Mexico, so it only took about five minutes to pack. "Do you think Dani's expecting us down there anytime soon?" Junior asked Kris. "Probably." He pulled her close and started to kiss her. She dropped her bag and put her hands in his hair. She didn't want to stop, but she had to. "We have to go." She looked into his eyes with pain and guilt that she had to leave. She saw the pain in his eyes too. "Okay." He picked up her stuff and they walked downstairs. Junior loaded Kris' stuff into the back of the Escalade, then his sister's stuff. Dani said goodbye to her dad and Kris and Junior were saying goodbye. "You know I don't want to leave."

"I know. You know I don't want you to."

"I know." Junior pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you Kris." He saw her start to cry. He kissed her one more time and helped her into the car. Dani got in. He was holding on to Kris' hand. Dani started the car. She had tears running down her face, and so did he. Before the car drove off, she said one last thing, "Can you wait?" Dani drove and Kris looked back and saw him shaking his head up and down. _Of course I can._


	11. 300 Miles Too Much

Junior watched Dani pull away from Davis Farms, with Kris, with Flame, and with Wildfire. Every connection to Kris was gone. He had no idea how he was going to deal. He could call her, yeah. But he wanted to see her and watch her races live instead of on tv. He wanted to be there. "Junior?" Junior turned around to find his father looking at him with a concerned expression. "I'm fine, dad."

"You don't look like you're fine."

"Yeah I'm not I lied." Junior turned around and walked straight past his father to Avatar's stall. "I'm going for a ride. Be back later."

"Kris how do you feel about my brother."

"I love your brother."

"Are you sure this time?" Kris smiled a little bit, while she still had feelings of guilt about breaking up with him. "I'm more than sure, if that's possible."

"I can't believe he gave you Wildfire." Kris smiled, "I can."

Junior rode to the hot springs that Wildfire and Houdini went off to three years ago. It was always a special place to him, because he told the only girl he ever loved his true feelings there. He was sitting on the rock that Kris was laying on that year because she couldn't swim. He threw a rock into the pond. "Stupid Match Race. I should've canceled it." Then he thought that if he canceled it, Kris may have still been with Matt. He had mixed feelings.

_"What lucky soul gets to ride horse number two?"_

_"Kris."_

_"Can I come?"_

_"I was offering to help find the horses." Jean and Kris laughed. "What's funny?"_

_"Do you even know how to ride?"_

_"Do birds fly?"_

_"Not penguins."_

_"Hey, couldn't sleep?" Kris shook her head. "Me neither. Can I sit down?"  
"Yeah, if you're quiet." Kris was looking at the night horizon. He leaned over. "What are we looking for?" She leaned back. "Whatever we see." Junior took a deep breath. "This afternoon, when you talked about your mom and, those guys and that, you said it wasn't a secret but, it was. I know it bothered you." Kris snapped, "Are you trying to be a smartass?" _

_"No."_

_"What do you know?"_

_"I know. And you know why? Because I watch you. I have no idea what makes me do it but, everytime you turn your head, everytime you laugh out loud, when you lift your hand to drink a cup of coffee, or the way your smile spreads from one side of your face to the other..." Kris smiled when he said that. "I don't just watch. I see. And I saw your face when you said that stuff today. I know it hurt you. And that's your secret." Junior leaned to whisper in her ear. "I won't tell." Kris looked down, then looked back at Junior. "What's yours?"_

_"Isn't it obvious? I mean it. I see you."_

_"Maybe, but we're alone in the woods in the dark, your eyes play tricks on you." Junior just looked into her eyes so sincerely, and shook his head no. Junior leaned in to kiss Kris and she gave in. _'

That was how it all began. The whole Junior and Kris on-again off-again love. How was he supposed to keep it alive when she was 300 miles away?

Dani and Kris were in the car crossing the border into Arizona when it got to be eight o'clock. "We should pull over somewhere soon." Dani told Kris. "Yeah." She sighed. "You know, a year goes by a lot faster than you would think."

"Not when these are the circumstances. Dani you saw me fall apart during those three days after you picked me up on the highway. How the hell am I supposed to do this?"

"It won't be easy."

"Thanks for stating the obvious."

"Can you let me finish?" Kris nodded. "I was _going _to say that it won't be easy, but, I'm here for you." Kris looked up at Dani. "Thanks. Really. And you know I'm..."

"Yeah, I know."

Dani pulled into the same Hilton that her card didn't work at the last time they were driving to New Mexico. "Oh great, the same consigliere." Kris laughed. "I think he will be nicer once he sees that that card of yours works." Dani laughed. "Here ya go" She handed her card to the consigliere. He gave her the same look he gave her last time when her card didn't work. "What'll it be?"

"One suite with a view."

"Okay." He ran the card and this time, it worked. "Okay Mrs. Davis you'll be in room 425." Dani took the swipe cards and gave one to Kris. "Thanks." The bellhop took their bags upstairs. Kris went into her room and Dani opened the door that connected her room to Kris'. She poked her head in. "Hey, what are you doing?" Kris gave Dani a "Isn't it obvious" look. She was unpacking. "Yeah, I mean after."

"Probably just going to bed, why?"

"I bought a pay per view. You wanna watch it with me?" Kris smiled at the gesture. "Sure. Which one?"

"I don't know, some comedy."

"Okay just give me five minutes yeah?"

"Yeah." Dani went back in her room and turned on the movie. Kris came in and sat on the bed. She had popcorn. "Where did you get that?" Dani asked her. "Room service. Real nice." Dani smiled at the thought that she didn't think of it first. "Cool." They dipped their hands in the bucket of popcorn and watched the movie.

Matt got up and answered the door to find his friend. "Oh, dude this isn't really a good time." Gillian came to the door. "Hey Junior. Did you work things out with Kris?"

"In a way, yeah, but we won't be able to see eachother for a year, or however long it takes to build up the ranch so they can get a bigger one that's closer." Matt took in a deep breath and grabbed a jacket. "Gillian I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay." They kissed goodbye. Matt shut the door behind him. They walked over to a tree branch and sat down. "Junior, you're seriously going to wait a _year?" _

"Yeah dude, it's Kris. What else can I do?"

"I don't know but don't you think it's a little coincidental that everytime you and Kris start things up again, it gets messed up? Maybe you guys aren't just meant to be." Junior got up. "How can you _say _that?"

"Just look at the signs Junior. Do you really wanna sit around and wait?" Junior thought about that for a minute. He looked at Matt with a sad look in his eyes. "No. No, I don't."

After another two days of driving, they finally arrived back home at the ranch. Kris got Wildfire and Flame and Dani got Picoro and they took them into the barn. "There ya go, boy. Back home. Well, not for you, you haven't been here."

"So are you ready for your first race?"

"You bet, when is it?"

"One month. I talked to the racing board and they agreed to let you race by a promise-to-appear at the classes and the community service."Okay thankyou Dani."

"Okay. Well I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"I'm going too." She followed Dani into the house. Dani opened the door and they both went to their separate rooms. Kris set her stuff down and climbed into bed. She was just about to drift off when her phone rang. She opened her tired eyes and once her vision cleared, saw that it was Junior. She flipped open the phone. "Hey."

"Hey, so I was thinking..."

"Uh oh." She could hear him laughing on the other line. "_Anyway, _I was thinking, and I know I said that I could wait for us, but, I can't. I'm sorry. I'm not gonna let the chance of you and I slip by again. I don't have the strength."

"Well what do you suppose we do about it?"

"Well, maybe I could fly down there and stay with you and Dani. You guys could use some extra help."

"Well what about Davis?"

"My dad's got enough money to hire a hundred Juniors. I don't really do much there anyway."

"So then what would you do here?"

"Everything I can do."

"Junior, are you sure?"

"Yes, if you are."  
"Of course I am! So you're really coming?!"

"Yeah. I am. Are you happy?"

"Are you kidding? I'm more than happy I can't believe you're doing this this is so great!" She heard him hang up the phone. "Hello? Hello?" She closed the phone. _Did he hang up? _Just then she heard his voice again. "I was kinda hopin that you would feel that way." She turned around and she saw him standing in her doorway. She jumped up and kissed him over and over again out of excitement. "I can't believe you did this."

"Yeah right. You know I would do anything for you, right?" She smiled at him with her hands around his neck. "Yeah I do."


	12. Our Legacy

"I didn't come alone." She looked confused now.   
"What do you mean?" Junior nodded his head in the other direction and smiled. "Matt!" She went to hug him. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a place at Raintree because I'm the heir, just like Junior will always have a place at Davis. But we decided that we didn't want to be passed down an empire, we wanted to build our own." She turned around at the sound of Junior's voice. "Yeah, our parents built Raintree and Davis, and they were really successful," Matt added in, "for the most part." Then Junior began again. "How will we know who we are or how good we are with this business if all we have to do is keep everything from falling apart?"

"So... you wanna work with Dani and me here? And build our own farm?"

"Yeah, our parents' have their legacy. This is ours." Matt spoke up. "You'll ride, obviously, I can train, and Junior and Dani will be in charge of running the business." Junior then added, "But, all decisions will need the approval of all four of us to work. So the farm is owned by each of us equally. 25-25-25-25."

"Have you talked to Dani?"

"Taken care of. We spoke on the phone earlier in the day and she actually thinks it's a good idea." Matt started to walk out of the room. "I'll see you guys in the morning. I'm going to bed." Both of them said good night simultaneously. "What about the house? There's only two rooms."

"I spoke with a contractor and he's coming Monday. Until then I guess we can sleep in the living room."

"You're gonna bunk on the couch together?" She laughed a little bit.

"Don't laugh, what else do you suppose we do? Not everyone likes to sleep in the barn."

"Hey!" She said, playfully punching his shoulder. They were silent for a few seconds. "Okay, well I guess I'll see you in the morning." He turned to walk out. "Night."

Kris was slowly waking up to the phone ringing in her room. "Ugh why is only ringing in my room?" _Dani probably threw her phone against the wall or something. _She looked at the alarm. _Seven already? It seems earlier. _She answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Kris, is my son there?" It was Jean. Kris could still sense the anger in Jean's voice.

"Um yeah. Hold on I'll go give the phone to him." She said nothing else. Kris took the phone to Matt. She was still tired and she wasn't much of a morning person so she just tossed the phone onto Matt's back. "Your mom." He laughed. To him, her morning moodiness was funny. Junior too. She walked back into her room to get another hour of sleep before she had to get back up to start work. Junior woke up when he heard her door shut. "Matt?" He just then saw he was on the phone. Matt hung up. "Can you believe my mother was calling to check up on us? We just called her last night to tell her we got here safe."

"Really? I knew your mom was protective but WOW."

"Yeah. So what were you saying?"

"Oh, yeah. Is Kris going back to sleep?"

"I don't know. She just walked out here and threw the phone at me then walked back into her room." Junior got out of bed laughing. "Yeah she would." He went to the kitchen. Matt began to get out of bed. _What the hell's he doing in there? _

Kris woke up again to a knock on her door. _Damnit Dani! _She didn't want to miss out on her last fifteen minutes of sleep. _Better see what she wants. _"It's open!" She quickly sat up and brushed the hair from her face when she saw who it was. "Junior?"

"Good morning."  
"What are you doing up?"  
"I woke up to your door slamming shut after Matt's mom called. Did you have a lovely conversation?" He said sarcastically. "Oh yeah, the best." She replied back the same way. "Well, I decided to make you breakfast. Now I know you won't like it, the horses probably wouldn't even touch it, but it's the thought that counts right?" She was really touched that he did that even when everyone knows he can't cook. "Absolutely." He handed her a plate and sat down next to her with his. "Bon appetit madamoiselle." She smiled and took a small, cautious bite, and immediately drank her orange juice after that. "That bad?" She didn't want to say anything so she told him to try his. He took a bite of his and swallowed it reluctantly. "Gross. Sorry."

"Don't be. Wait here." Kris took his plate and went back into the kitchen to put the plates in the sink. Junior decided to poke around her room a little bit, since she did it to him. She looked in a small box under her bed, in exactly the same place his was in his own room. He was afraid he would find memoirs of Matt's, but then he opened the box and saw everything that ever had any meaning with them inside. He pulled everything out and looked at it, remembered when it was they acquired it.

_Kris was drinking her milkshake at Ray's Cafe, looking up at Junior and smiling. She noticed him scribbling something on a napkin. She leaned forward and he hid it. "Hey you can't read it yet!"_

_"Aw why not?"  
"Calm down you can see it when I'm done." She waited about a second then said, "Are ya done yet?" He smiled and wrote the last thing. He put his pen back into his shirt pocket and slid the napkin towards Kris. "Here." She picked it up and though it was simple, it still made her heart skip two beats. "Kris and Junior 4ever."_

_"How cute. I haven't seen that written anywhere since like fourth grade."_

_"I'm sure it was directed at you." She didn't say anything. She leaned across the table and kissed him, then put the napkin into her jacket pocket. _

_Junior had just jumped off the bull that qualified him for the rodeo. He threw his hat up in the air, and while watching it fall back down, he noticed Kris standing in the entryway. He didn't think she was going to come, since they were recently broken up, but she did. He was still a little hurt that she had decided to sell Flame, but by instinct he immediately ran up and met her. "Hey you came."_

_"Yep. Congratulations." He knew she was hurt also, since he decided not to try things with her again after the Flame situation. She put her head down and was quiet. "Hey, what's wrong?" He knew, it was just polite to ask. "Nothing. I'm fine." He was sad that she was sad. He placed his cowboy hat on top of her head. "What's this?"_

_"Keep it. Think of it as a souvenir."_

_"I can't take your lucky hat."  
"Who said it was my lucky hat?"_

_"I don't know you were wearing it when you qualified to I just thought maybe you considered it your lucky hat." She felt stupid and he could tell. He couldn't help but laugh, but he wanted to make her feel better. "Maybe it was my lucky hat, or maybe someone here was lucky for me today. So if that lucky person were to wear that lucky hat, it doubles my chances." He was always good at that quick-witted stuff. "Thanks for making up crap for me to feel better." Both of them managed to chuckle and then she awkwardly excused herself and he realized that just because she sold Flame didn't mean that she didn't love him. _

_Junior practically skipped into her trailer, he was so happy. They were finally together. He turned and sat down at the table, Kris was across from him reading __Modern Jockey__. He pushed down the top of the magazine with his hand and smiled, as if he were expecting something. Kris shook her head and set the magazine down. She went to his side of the booth and sat on his lap and they started kissing. He stopped to ask her how her arm was. "Good. It doesn't hurt much anymore, and the cast will be off soon."_

_"Well then I guess it's time for me to sign it."_

_"Oh you don't have to..." He interrupted her. "I want to. Do you have a marker?" She got up and pulled open a drawer in her small kitchen and gave him the marker. She sat down on the other side of the table and stretched her arm out. He stretched his arm as if he were getting ready to write something really long and she laughed. "Just write it." He finished and she read it. "Kris, no matter how many times you break your arm, or anything else, you'll still always be my superwoman." She smiled happily and went back over to his side of the table. _

Junior almost never cried, but he could feel his eyes become watery. He wiped his eyes when he heard the door open. "You kept all this stuff?"

She sighed and sat next to him on the bed, after putting the two new plates that she had cooked on top of her dresser. "Yeah."  
"Why?"

"Why did you keep all of the stuff I gave to you, or that reminded you of me?"

"Because I was still in love with you. But..." He was about to say that she wasn't still in love with him because he didn't think she was at the time. She interrupted him before he could say it. "That's why." He was doing all he could to keep from breaking down in front of her. There were a few moments of silence before she broke it. "I made breakfast." He didn't notice that she brought it in. He was too focused on all of the stuff in the box. She handed him his plate and he tasted it. "MM, MUCH better than mine."

"Thanks." She smiled. They were looking into each other's eyes, when the moment was broken by Dani when she came through the door. "Junior? You're up?"

"Yeah. Why is that such a surprise to everyone?" Matt piped in. "Cause you always sleep until at least ten."

"Oh. Right." He ate the last of his breakfast. "Well, what's first on the list?"

"Flame is about a year and a half, so, he's old enough to start walks and trots. Kris will ride him around the track a few times while you and Matt start rebuilding the stables, and I have to contact potential boarders, and schedule some races that we should look into. At eleven Kris and I will leave because we have a meeting with the racing board for her to get her riding license back and mine back in order to board horses and enter races."

"Okay." They got up and walked out the door.

The morning went by quickly and soon Kris and Dani were standing before the judges of the racing board. "Miss Davis, I see here that before this match race, you ran the farm alone, and at your young age that is very impressive. Your smarts for the racing world prove you are capable of handling the responsibility of your own farm. No community service is required, however, you will need to attend a one-week class on racing procedures. You'll be mailed the details." Dani smiled gratefully. "Thankyou." The judge acknowledged her and then turned to Kris. "As for you Miss Furillo, I find it hard to trust you. I know you are no longer on probation, but if you were, you would be back in jail probably with no chance of returning to work anytime soon. But, the board has seen how passionate you are about horses and how much you love to ride. That still does not excuse the fact that you took part in this race, but it reduces your sentence. Ten hours of community service, and it could be earned by working on your new farm as long as for the ten hours you are not paid, and attend a six-week class. You ladies are dismissed."

Junior was working on the barn door and Matt was fixing up a stall. They had only talked about small things but Junior had to ask. "So, where is Gillian?"

"We wanted to work things out, but she didn't want to move here, so that's that."

"Oh. Sorry man."

"No it's fine. I'll find someone else." He smiled at Matt sympathetically. "Hey guys what's up?" Kris walked in and took Junior's hammer from him. "Hey get your own hammer." He snatched it back playfully then kissed her. "Fine." She got a hammer out of the toolbox next to the door, along with some nails. She went outside and grabbed a ladder and began to climb onto the roof. Matt asked Junior what she was going to do outside so he put his hammer and nails down and went out to look. "Kris! Get down!"

"Why? I'm fixing the roof."

"You're gonna hurt yourself!"  
"I'll be fine, I'm superwoman, remember?" Junior remembered what he wrote on her cast that he had found earlier that day. "Still, every hero has their weakness." She glared at him. "Junior, I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"Okay, just, be careful. Please."  
"I will." He looked up at her again but then made himself go back inside the barn. Dani was there now, fixing the door that Junior had been working on. "Dani you took my job."

"You could do something else."  
"Like?"

"Like go help Kris on the roof. I can tell you don't like her up there alone." Junior thanked her and ran outside and climbed up the ladder. "Hey beautiful." She turned around. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm fine?"

"I know, I just want to help you." She knew he was lying and he knew that she knew it. "Okay..." He smiled happily and kissed her. "So, where do I start?" Kris showed him a hole in the other side of the barn roof. "Oh." He grabbed his stuff and crawled over. He was working on the roof, but it was taking him twice as long because he kept looking over at Kris to be sure she was okay. She loved how protective he was of her, although sometimes it got on her nerves a little bit. She loved everything he did, everything he said, everything he was. It was beginning to get dark, and Kris wiped her forehead and crawled over to Junior and saw what little he had done. "That's it?"

"Hey I was trying to make sure you were safe at the same time."

"It shouldn't take you that long to glance over every now and then," she smiled at him suspiciously. "Well you're nice to look at."

"I think that qualifies as stalking."

"Not if you like being stalked." He laughed seductively and laid her down on the roof and kissed her. "And what makes you think I like you looking at me?" He stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes. It was completely dark now, the light of the many stars over the country lit up her face. "Because, I see you." She closed her eyes. That line always made her think _Oh, God. _He was so sweet to her. None of her previous boyfriends had ever been like him, not even Matt. She remembered the first time he said that in the woods four years earlier. He did too. He kissed her again. She said, between breaths, "It's getting cold." He draped his jacket over her and layed down next to her on the roof of the barn, looking up at the stars. The only time he'd seen this many stars was that same night in the mountain. She turned to him after a few minutes. "We should go inside." He nodded in agreement and helped her down the ladder. Once they got to the ground he again draped his jacket over her shoulders and put his arm around her as they walked inside. Kris opened the door to her room and walked inside. Junior told her goodnight and turned around towards the couch. "You can sleep in here if you want." He nodded and walked inside and closed the door.


	13. Past

In a very low voice Kris was starting to hear Dani yelling at someone on the phone. "What are you talking about you can't do that! We agreed on Monday, not Thursday, Monday, I'm going to get your supervisor on the phone if you don't..." The more she became conscious the louder the yelling got until she had to go see what was wrong. Junior was still sleeping. _He can sleep through ANYTHING. _She opened the door and joined a frustrated Dani in the living room. Matt was barely awake, she had guessed that he had woken up the same way she had. Dani hung up the phone angrily. "Damn contractors!"  
"Dani _what _is it this time?" Kris asked her, almost half asleep and a little mad that it woke her up. "The contractors say they can't come till Thursday and they told us Monday."

"Oh my God," she said, emphasizing the fact that she was annoyed by the morning wake up call. "Dani give me the phone."

"Well what do you think you can do about it?" She gave her a glare. "Fine." Dani tossed the phone to Kris. Matt was up enough by this time that he understood what was going on. Kris dialed. "How is it that _every _morning I get woken up by a pissed off girl on the phone?" Dani defended herself. "Nothing happened yesterday."  
"Not with you, but my mother called to let me know I shouldn't have left, and she wasn't too happy when she called." They heard Kris on the phone and turned their heads. "Yeah hello? This is Kris Furillo over at Promesa Farms, what's this I hear about you not coming until Thursday?"

"Uh huh," she said, as if she believed them. "Well that's not really our problem is it?"

"I suggest you get someone over here tomorrow like you promised, you know, since we have a lot more work after this that needs to be done and there are other contractors in this town." Matt looked shocked. Dani not so much, since the hotel incident, but Dani wished she had thought of using that blackmail first. "Uh huh. Okay. Thankyou." She clicked off the phone. "Wow, I didn't know you could be mean."

"I wasn't mean, I did what I had to to get this done."

"Still..." Dani interrupted. "Besides Matt she _was _in prison."She thought Kris would have a comeback but she just laughed and nodded her head in agreement. She really didn't take the "prison girl" jokes personally anymore, since it was so long ago and she didn't think that Dani meant it as more than a wisecrack. "Well anyway since you're up, you guys can get started with the horses. I'll get Junior up." Matt looked around. "Hey, where _is_ Junior?" Dani looked after him. "I don't know." Kris was afraid they would find him in her room, and she didn't want Matt to see because she knew it would hurt him, even if nothing happened. They both now looked at Kris. "Um," she hesitated but then decided to go for the classic answer: "I don't know..." Just then Junior walked in all dressed and wide awake with a toolbox in his hand. Everyone looked like they thought they had lost their minds. "Junior?"

"You're up?"  
"This early?" They all said.

"Yeah. I was working on the stables." Kris smiled. _No you weren't. _"Alright well let's go then." Dani went out the door, followed by Matt, who had put on a shirt and shoes and was already wearing jeans, then Kris, but Junior touched her arm and she turned around. "Hey," he said quietly, "Don't worry, I knew what you were thinking, you think I was going to let Matt see me? Or Dani?"

"Thankyou."

"Let's go."

A few hours went by and the two horses were done training. Wildfire was now almost seven years old, so this time his racing career was done, since no racetracks let in any horses above the age of six, so the only two horses that were being trained were Pickoro, who was now four, and Flame, one-and-a-half. Kris hopped off Flame and petted him. "Nice job today, you should have no problem filling Wildfire's shoes." Matt put down his training book. "I agree. Flame's progress is coming along better than Wildfire when you both first came to Raintree. He's going to be another legend." Dani drove up in the Escalade. "Ready to go Matt?" Matt got into the SUV. "Kris we'll be back in a little bit. We're going into town to find a good feed supplier."

"Okay." Kris began to walk Flame back to the stables as they drove away. Junior helped Kris cool off Flame when he saw her come back into the stables. "Where is the Dark Queen and her minion?"

"Dani's not that bad." Kris smiled. His eyes grew wider. "Are you kidding? MY sister?"

"Yeah she's not what I thought she was, we're getting along really well now."

"Dr, this patient needs to be put into the mental asylum asap." He imitated a hospital nurse. She playfully slapped him on the arm. "Shut up." He grinned at her. She looked over. "What?" She said, looking around her to see what he was staring at. She finally guessed it was her. "Junior?"

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About..."

"About how we both used to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but now it's all turning around."

"How do you mean?"

"Before, the past few years, things kept getting in the way and keeping us apart, but now everything is where it should be, and I don't think that's a risk anymore."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah you don't see it? We are finally out on our own. We don't have to worry about my dad, who likes you now by the way, but still, and Raintree, and money, and agents..." that made her laugh a little bit, but then she got serious. "What about Matt?" That last statement made them both think of the last time Kris had said that.

_Junior had finally gotten away from Molly, and Win had drifted off somewhere. Junior found Kris by the couch and took her hand. "Let's talk." He pulled her into the photobooth. There wasn't much room so she ended up sitting on his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck. He began to kiss her. After a few moments she pulled away. "What about Matt?" Junior looked around as if he were observing the photobooth. He turned back to her. She was expecting a serious answer. What she got was: "There's NO WAY he could fit in here with us." That last joke he made somehow let her forget about everything that was going on and just enjoy the moment. Matt was off her mind. "I thought you wanted to talk."_

_"Well..."_

_"Seriously", she interrupted. _

_"Seriously? Okay. Well, I have feelings for you," he said slowly and the fact that it was hard for him to try and talk to her amused her. She laughed. "You're not so good at the talking."_

_"Yeah we're not very good at that." She smiled and leaned forward. "We're better at this..." she said as she leaned down to kiss him again. _

"He told you he would get used to it, like he did the last time, and Dani has grown up a lot maybe they will get back together." She thought about that. She knew that eventually Matt would be fine, and she really didn't want to mess anything up with Junior again. "Can we not parade this whole thing around until something like that happens?"

"Yeah, anything you want."

**In the car... **

"Matt drive faster, GOD you are SO slow!" Matt had switched Dani after they signed with a feed store and now he was in the driver's seat. "Dani I'm going five miles above the speed limit."

"Which in New Mexico is like two."

"Don't exaggerate." It was quiet awhile and Dani decided to bring up a touchy subject, she saw it as good a time as any. "Matt?" She said with sincerity. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about Kris."

"Are you really?" He said, remembering all of Dani's attempts to get rid of Kris for her own selfish reasons. "Yeah I am. I know this hurts you. But, you just have to think of it as this is what was supposed to happen. Everything that is supposed to happen somehow does. That's how I got over you. I figured that if fate put Kris here because you and I weren't meant to be, then that was it and I couldn't change it."

"Thanks. But I know, I get it. I know she always loved Junior more than she loved me, and I saw how he felt about her and that never happened to him before. I already let it go."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

"Cause now you can move on..."

"I guess."

**Back at the ranch...**

"So..." Junior started to say. She turned from her work to him. "How many races do you think you'll have to win to bring us above Davis Farms?"

"ALOT." He walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "It won't take very long," he said while looking down smiling at her." Kris never wanted to take compliments. She looked towards Flame and Pickoro. "Yeah cause we have great horses." He looked down into her eyes and shook his head. "It's the driver that wins races, not the car." She blushed because now she had to accept the compliment he just gave her. She liked the car analogy he used because it was true. She had seen it MANY times before she got sent to Camp LaGrange. "Thanks." All he could do was smile at her. "Even if we don't win a lot of races, I like it here. It's like our world, you know? It's like the four of us are meant to be here."

"Yeah I know what you mean. I like this place too. I don't even know if I would want to go back there..." Kris stopped herself mid-sentence. "Junior? Dani went to a feed store right?"

"I don't know Kris you're the one that told me." She looked confused and scared. Junior looked towards the direction she was looking in. "That's not..." Kris finished for him. "That's not Dani's car." She focused her eyes a little to see if it was the car she thought it was. Junior saw her eyes grow wide. She stood completely still, not even breathing. She looked horrified. "Junior," she said as she tried to remain calm. " I need you to run inside and call the cops." Now he was scared. "What? Why? What's going on."

"Please don't ask questions."

"But Kris," she interrupted. "I can take care of myself just go do it." Junior did as she said and got the police on the phone immediately. Kris stood still as she watched the car drive nearer to her. It had to come down the long stretch of dirt to get to their farm. Junior re-joined her outside before they pulled up. She turned to him as if she were angry. "Go back inside, you shouldn't be here." He was shocked at the tone of seriousness in her voice. "No I can't. I called the cops now I'm staying here with you."

"You're not involved in this and I don't want you getting hurt because of my mistakes."

"I don't care." The car pulled to a stop and a guy and a girl got out. She immediately recognized them both, she knew she would. "Junior please leave."

"No way." She put her head down and now it was too late for him to leave, because the people would know he was involved with her anyway. The guy stepped closer to Kris and looked her in the eye, only a foot away. She looked back up at him because in the game they were playing, those were the rules. Never look intimidated. Though inside, she wanted to run. Junior didn't know if he should move up in front of her or not, but judging by the look of this guy, that would be a big mistake, for Kris. She looked like she knew what she was doing, and if Junior provoked the guy, he might hurt Kris. He stayed put watching as a by-stander. The guy was dressed in all blue, as was the female, standing beside him. Giving Junior a dirty look every so often while still staying focused on Kris and the man. "What's this Kris? Who's this guy?" The guy turned towards Junior. Kris got worried. "Don't worry about him, he's not involved and he never was. This is between you guys and me."

"Then maybe he should go, don't you think Joanna?" He said, referring to the girl standing next to him. She nodded her head while blowing a bubble of chewing gum, arms crossed. Kris looked at Junior. "Junior, go. For you and me both." He listened to her this time, but watched from behind the door of the barn to be sure she would be okay. Kris looked back at the guy. "What are you doing here and how did you find me?"

"This is a big family Kris. Everyone knows everyone else. You didn't think we would find you eventually? You know the rules..."

"I don't want a part in this anymore. I'm done."

"I don't think so babe you don't get to choose. You knew the rules and you know them now." He looked at Joanna and she repeated the rules Kris had been informed of six years earlier..."Respect everyone in your family, show no tolerance for acts of rebellion against your family, do not betray your family, do not abandon your family, nothing bad against your family goes unpunished..." Kris stopped her. "I know, I got it."

"So why did you abandon us then?"  
"I didn't I went to _prison_, you knew that."

"You were supposed to come back as soon as your parole was up."

"Well I didn't, and I won't." The guy stepped back and nodded at Joanna. Joanna spit out her gum and took a swing at Kris. She ducked and the girl missed. Kris pulled Joanna's head down by her hair and slammed her head against her knee. Kris took this chance to put her in a headlock and eventually dragged her to the ground. "You always were a tough one..." The guy said as he helped the girl off the ground. He motioned for Kris to look at his SUV and three more girls hopped out. "You shouldn't be able to take on three of our best, as good as you were..." They ran toward her but before they reached her a two cop cars pulled up. Joanna realized it. "Shit the cops!" They all ran back to the car but the four police officers tackled four of them down and Kris tackled Joanna back to the ground until the police could get the other ones in cuffs. Junior had run out by this time after he saw the three girls get out of the SUV. So he was there to witness it all. The police then cuffed Kris as well and had all six of them except Junior sit on the ground, hands behind their backs. "Can we ask you a couple questions sir?" Junior agreed, still looking at Kris, completely shocked. "Do you know any of these people?"

"Yeah, I know her." He pointed to Kris. "Has she been conversing with these people recently?"

"No, this is the first time." He asked him a few more questions but then let Kris go. She got up and dusted herself off and hugged Junior. "Thanks." She watched as the five of them were put into the cop cars and driven away.

"No problem." He kissed the top of her head and held her closer, but then backed away. "You need to tell me what's going on." She looked down and closed her eyes. "I know."


	14. What's In A Name?

**Ok I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry it took me so long to update. When I get a story idea I am on fire for the first several chapters I write, but then I lose my inspiration and stop writing until something prompts me to do so again. Anyway, I promise I'll try to finish this story within the next few weeks. Here is the long-awaited 15****th**** chapter: Warning: This chapter is graphic, it contains substance abuse and violence.**

Junior looked down at Kris, who looked more afraid than he had ever seen. "You need to tell me what is going on." She looked back at him, then looked at the dirt beneath her feet, dreading the fact that this was true. "I know." She took him by the arm and led him inside. As they sat on the couch, Dani's car pulled up.

Matt popped the trunk of the SUV and grabbed the first bag of feed. Dani jumped down from her seat and onto the dirt and dusted herself off. Matt looked at her and smirked. "That won't help much."

"Why do you say that?"

"We still need to carry these feed bags into the barn." Dani finished fixing her hair in her pocket mirror and looked back at Matt. "Or, YOU need to carry them in." He looked confused and she laughed at him. "Come on, I SUPPOSE I can help you." Dani struggled to carry in one bag and then watched Matt toss one over each shoulder effortlessly. After Matt put his bags down with hers, Dani motioned him to follow her inside. "I'm going to go get Kris and Junior, there is a lot of feed left." Matt nodded in agreement.

When they reached the house Dani opened the door to find the two of them sitting there in silence. Kris seemed to be having a hard time holding herself together. Dani sat next to Kris and looked at her, concerned. Matt shut the door quietly and sat on a chair opposite the other three of them. "What happened?" Dani began. Matt looked at Junior for some type of clue who in return stared at the ground. Matt took this as a "get outta here we are trying to have a private conversation". He had been very familiar with that certain type of body language because when his mom and dad had their problems they would give him a certain look. Matt got up and hinted at Dani to do the same. Kris caught onto this and said, "No, sit. You guys need to hear this too."

She began by explaining the situation with the two acquaintances and police earlier. Matt and Dani listened intently for the next part of the story. Kris kissed Junior. He looked at her, a little confused. "What was that for?"

"Because when I'm done telling you this I may not be able to do that for awhile."

She tried as best she could to tell them what happened without remembering the horrifying circumstances that had led up to it.

She began.

"You guys all already know that I grew up in Oakland. Well it's not exactly what you would call a utopia. My dad left me and my brother when I was really little, I don't even remember too much about him. It didn't really bother me back then, or even now for that matter, but after he left, my mom went downhill, and the effect that she had on me and Jace changed both of our lives forever. I don't remember much, but Jace used to tell me how my mom was before all this happened, He told me the memories he had as a kid, the Christmases my family shared, my mom and dad going to his baseball games, his parent nights at school, and other things. Those were all the nice things Jace told me about my mother when I was too young to remember her that way. All I remember about her is how she was after that, while I was growing up. He said that after my dad left, my mom was forced to sell our house in a good neighborhood and she rented out a trailer in a park in a bad part of the city. She was never home. She lost her job, and met a guy who introduced her into the drug trade. She sold drugs on the street in order to make money to pay the rent and buy food. Before long she was addicted to all these different kinds of drugs and she was never the same again. I remember Jace used to try to protect me when my mom came home high or drunk, and he would end up getting hurt himself, if not by her, then by one of her boyfriends that came there every so often.

When I was eight, Jace's mom came looking for him at our old house, and the public records stated where we currently lived. Of course the court granted her custody, since she was Jace's birth mother. He didn't want to leave me here alone with my mom, but in the end I'm glad he did because he didn't have to deal with her on account of me anymore. I still saw Jace occasionally, but I was all alone after that. As I got older, things with my mom got progressively worse. She went from partying and drugs on weekends to different guys in our trailer 24/7, along with partying, drinking, and drugs almost constantly. 95% of the time she was either not home, high, drunk, or passed out. I felt completely isolated and alone and hopeless. When I started high school at 14, I met my then-best friend Joanna. We ended up talking and hanging out together at lunch and during breaks and we found out we had a lot in common, she had been through a lot of the same things that I had. But she seemed to be so much happier. I spent as much time as possible away from home, Joanna introduced me to her boyfriend and some of her other friends. I started talking to them as well and found out even they had been through the stuff that I had. They all took care of eachother and defended eachother, no matter what. I so desperately wanted that, people to just be there for me, so I wouldn't always feel so alone. I remember they called themselves a "family". I hadn't heard that word in a long time. They said that they called themselves family because they stuck together no matter what, like a family would, because none of them knew what it was like to have a real family. They said there were hundreds of them, spread out across the state, but in our group there were only about ten. I asked Joanna's boyfriend, Richard, who seemed to be calling the shots most times, how I could become a part of this family that they always referred to. A voice in the back of my head kept telling me these people were in a gang, and that I would be too if I asked to be a part of their so called family, but I so desperately wanted to believe in the fact that maybe teens could take care of eachother when no one else could, that I ignored my instincts.

Kris paused and took a drink of the water that was sitting on the coffee table in front of her. "So, you were in a gang? Is that who those people were?" Junior asked. She nodded her head in shame. "It was stupid, I know." Dani motioned for her to go on.

Joanna saw my reaction when I was around them all, and told me she was afraid at first too, but that they would be there for me. I believed them. I was initiated a week later, and they had me tag a few houses, nothing too extreme because I was a female member, but I had never really done anything like that before. Of course I didn't do this alone, Winn helped me. That's when I met Winn, and that's why when I introduced him to you guys all I said was "an old friend." He went along with me that night to be sure I wouldn't "back out". I felt so guilty at first, but Joanna was right, that feeling eventually went away and was replaced by a feeling of invigoration, freedom, and I finally felt that maybe I had control over at least one part of my life. They had me do different things to promote the gang and in return I was offered the closest thing I knew to family, although now that I know what a real family is, none of it even comes close. The night of the car jack was the first night that I did something that I told myself I would never do. I almost backed out of it, but I was with five other people with me so I couldn't. When we got to the old parking garage where the car was parked, I saw a guy in a leather jacket leaning up against an old car. As I got closer I realized it was my brother. I hadn't known before, but he had been in the gang since I was eight and he was twelve. He gave me a hug and told me not to worry, that he did it all the time. I took in a deep breath and joined the rest of them, getting ready to hotwire the car to take it to the chop shop, when the cops pulled up with their sirens blaring. All five jumped into the car as quick as possible and sped off. Jace could have easily sped off in his car too, but I was so afraid and shocked that I couldn't budge, so he stood by my side. We both got arrested and that's how I ended up at Camp LaGrange.

Junior looked at her, "That doesn't explain why Joanna and her boyfriend came here."

They don't need a reason, that's how they are. When I was being initiated they clearly explained the rules, which is why Joanna repeated them when the two of them got here today. I thought maybe I was out since I went to jail, but apparently not, I guess I didn't listen to them well enough.

She didn't know why, but Kris seemed to get stronger and less upset as she told the story. Still, when she was done Dani moved over and put her arm around Kris as if to say "I'm here for you". The four of them talked for a little while longer, and Junior, Matt, and Dani took up most of the time asking her questions, because they had never been around or heard anything like this previously.

It got later, and Matt fell asleep on the couch and Dani went into her room to sleep, they all had to get up at eight. Junior and Kris moved into her room and sat on her bed in silence for a little while, not knowing what to say next in this awkward situation. However, Junior was worried so he was the first to speak. "So, the cops took them away, but are there others? Are you safe now?" Kris looked shocked and frightened. She was just so thankful that Joanna and her boyfriend were taken away that she completely forgot about the rest of them, surely to come looking for her as well. Junior saw the tears well up in her eyes and he put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. She did the best she could to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks so she could speak. "There are others, I'm sure they will be looking for me too."

"Isn't there something you can do, like change your name?" She looked up at him and realized it might work. "I could try it. What else can I do?" He shrugged. She started debating about whether or not this could work and if it did, if it would be worth it. She shut her eyes and laid back with her hand on her forehead. When she removed her hand from her face, Junior wasn't there.


	15. The Proposal

Disclaimer: I do not own Wildfire or any of its characters.

She looked to the right, and then the left, but she saw no one. As she began to get up, she saw him. Junior was kneeling on the floor in front of her. She was confused at first, but then her eyes followed his hand as he reached into his pocket. Then she understood. Shock swept across her face, she felt as if the floor beneath here was crumbling. Her eyes continued to follow his hand, until he lifted the top of the small black box that he held to reveal a beautiful, gold ring. There were three diamonds, a large one in the center, and two smaller ones on each side of the bigger one. She gasped when she saw the ring, and then finally, her eyes locked to his. They were glazed, like they were beginning to form tears. Her eyes copied his. The stayed like that for a few seconds, not wanting this to end. Finally, Junior spoke up. "Take mine," he said.

Even though she knew that was coming, she still couldn't hold back the shock or the tears of happiness. She didn't cry, but tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to take in all that this would mean. He looked scared for a moment, so she decided it was about time to say something. But she couldn't. She knew what she wanted to say, but she couldn't get it to come out of her throat. Junior cleared his throat and began to speak again. "Kris, I was the last person on earth to ever think that I would fall in love. I liked girls, of course, but I could never make myself stick to only one. I never thought I would be capable of commitment, or love. You proved me wrong. The first time I saw you, my eyes locked. The first time I heard your voice, my heart stopped beating, and I struggled to catch my breath. The first time I touched you, I was suddenly aware of every cell and every nerve in my body. I love you, I can't deny it, I always have. I never thought I would ever hear these words come out of my mouth, until I met you. Kristine Furillo, will you marry me?" The words hit her like the force of winds in a hurricane. Without answering, or thinking, she launched off the end of the bed and landed on top of him. She put her hands in his hair, and looked him in the eyes. "Of course I will."

"You have no idea how happy I am right now." She laughed a bit. "I can imagine."

"Okay I want to do this right." Very gently, he helped her off the ground until she was standing upright. Then, he knelt down on one knee and took the ring out of the box. He gently held her left hand, and kissed the top of it very softly. He slid the ring on her third finger, and then kissed her hand again. She looked down at him, and waited until his eyes met her gaze. When they did, she pulled him up and kissed him softly. The kiss developed into a deeper one, more passionate. His hands were on her hips, her arms wrapped around his neck pulling him closer to her. It was late, about two in the morning, but that and the fact that Matt was in the living room didn't matter. They were caught up in their love for each other. Junior made sure to shut the bedroom door, and made his way to her bed.

After Kris and Junior had left into her room, Dani got up from where she was sitting and went across the living room to sit next to Matt. "Wow," she began, "I can't believe it. I always called her prison girl but I never thought that there was another side to her beyond that." Matt looked at Dani with a frustrated expression on his face. "Don't be so surprised, it all makes sense now. She wouldn't steal a car just because she wanted to. She had to. They made her. I don't think she knew exactly what she was doing when she agreed to join them."

"Oh, I know. I'm not judging her. I'm just saying that I didn't think she was the type."

"She's not."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah…" Dani got a suspicious look on her face and Matt studied her face to try to decode what she was thinking. His eyes grew wide when he understood what she wanted to do. "No!"

"Please? Come on it will be fun."

"I don't think they want us prying on their conversations."

"They don't have to know. Come on, Matt. It's harmless, if it's something we shouldn't be listening to we will stop."

"You better." He reluctantly got up and followed Dani to the wall. She pressed her ear to the wall, but he refused to do it himself. "So, what are they saying?"

"I don't know. It's completely quiet." They heard a small noise and then Dani pressed her ear towards the wall again. "He said, take mine."

"So what does that mean?"

"How the hell should I know? Be quiet for a sec so I can hear more." She listened intently. Matt watched as Dani's eyes grew wide and mouth fell open. "What?! What?!" he said, thinking that something was wrong. Dani didn't respond. She just slowly backed away from the door and stared at Matt. He started to get panicky. "Dani tell me what's going on!"

"He…," she was trying to find the words, "…asked her to marry him." Dani wasn't sure if she should have told Matt, he had willingly stepped to the side because he wanted Kris to be happy, but it didn't mean that he didn't still love her. "Matt, I'm sorry," was all she managed to get out. She watched his facial expressions change first to shock, then to confusion, then to… nothing. His expression was blank. This made Dani nervous. She was about to speak when Matt beat her to it. "Wow. I guess I saw that one coming." Dani shook her head briefly. _Did he just say what I think he said? Since when is he pro-Kris and Junior?_ "What?" She asked him to clarify. "Well, you know Dani. You've seen them. As much as I've tried to deny it, they've had some kind of eerie connection since the day they met." Dani nodded her head. She also didn't used to like it, but she always knew it was there. Matt continued, "they've been together, broken up, back together, and broken up again. This time, now that they don't need to worry about our crazy families getting in the way, or anything else, it was bound to happen. And, as hard as it is for me to say this, they, belong together." Dani was blown away by Matt's newfound maturity. "Matt, I can't believe you just said that. You've grown up." He smiled a little. "Just a bit." He winked at her. She replied, "No, I'm serious. Matt, you never could decide what you wanted. Not just with girls, but with everything. You were constantly changing. And, sorry to say this, but even when you had Kris, you still weren't happy," she could see that he was about to correct her. "No, let me finish," she insisted. "What I mean is, you think you were happy, and maybe you were, but what I meant to say was that you were always searching for something more. No matter what you had. It was never enough." Matt saw the look of remorse on Dani's face. "It's okay Dani. Really. I know how it was, and how I felt. Maybe that's why you and I could never make it work. You're stubborn, you like things a certain way, and I was always changing. We never really fit, even though _I _felt that the connection was there. Maybe not as strong as the one they have," he nodded his head towards Kris' bedroom, "but there was one, we just didn't know it." She still looked mildly confused, and he answered the one question that was left. "Yes, Dani. I think I grew up. Suddenly, I'm happy. Maybe it's because this place is so… serene. Maybe it's because I got older, or maybe I'm finally just happy for Kris. And for my best friend." Dani threw her arms around Matt and hugged him tightly. He was surprised, but he held her back. They stayed like that for a minute or two. "That's so good." Dani congratulated him. "I know."


	16. Dress

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wildfire.**

Dani woke up late, compared to the times she normally woke up. She saw Matt sleeping next to her. They hadn't done anything, she just let Matt sleep there. A couch couldn't be very comfortable night after night. And she was in a good mood today. She stood next to her door. She heard the tv on, so she ran out into the living room. It had to be either Kris or Junior, and knowing Junior's sleeping habits, it was probably Kris. She practically skipped out to the couch and jumped on it next to Kris, who was eating a bowl full of cereal and watching a recorded horse race. "Hey Dani, what's up?" She acted as if nothing was going on. _Why isn't she smiling? What happened last night? She probably just doesn't want me or Matt to know yet. _An idea hit her. _I can make Kris guess that I know._ Dani smiled widely at Kris. She looked over and saw her and laughed. "What's that about Dani?" She continued to study Dani's face. _There's no way she knows. We weren't speaking that loud._ Dani kept smiling and raised one eyebrow. "Do you have something that you would like to share?" Kris thought about it briefly. _I can't tell her. She'll tell Matt. I don't want to hurt him. It's better to ease him into it._ "I don't know what you mean." Dani grinned now, and leaned closer to Kris, whispering in her ear, "I already know." Kris dropped her spoon into the bowl and stared at Dani. "How?" Obviously, Dani didn't want to answer this. So she thought of a way around it. She pointed to the ring on Kris' hand. "Oh. I guess I should have hidden that until I was ready to tell you guys."

"Matt will be fine, don't worry."

"How do you know that?"

"Trust me, I know him better than he does." Kris let it go, not wanting to find out the _real_ reason Dani knew Matt would be okay. She figured he already knew. "So Matt knows huh?" Dani frowned. "Was I being that obvious?"

"You're just really easy to see through." Dani leaned over to Kris again and squeezed her. "Dani? What're you doing?"

"I can't believe you are going to marry my brother. Congratulations."

"Thanks. You're not mad?"

"Why would I be, we've become sort of friends right?"

"Yeah I just didn't think…"

"Can I help you plan it?" Dani asked anxiously. "Of course. I was also going to ask you to be my maid of honor. Unless it's too much to be wedding planner and maid of honor." Dani looked at Kris and hugged her again. When she pulled away Kris saw tears streaming down Dani's cheeks. That hit the button. She began to cry also. Not tears of sadness, but of joy. "So, when?" Dani asked.

"We were thinking a month from now."

"A month? I've got to get started. We gotta go into town today."

"I can't today I need to help train Flame for the upcoming race."

"Junior will do that." Kris looked at Dani as if she were crazy. Both of them laughed. "I didn't say he would do that _well_. But I'm sure he'd be glad to help. Plus, do you know how long it takes them to alter it to your fitting?"

"Not really." Dani pulled Kris up off the couch. She grabbed the bowl from her hands and nearly tossed it into the sink. "We've got to get ready."

The sound of the bowl crashing into the sink must have woke the boys up. Junior threw on a t shirt and jeans and tousled his hair slightly before leaving the bedroom. When he was about to open the bedroom door, Kris came through. She explained that Dani knew and so did Matt. "And, they're okay with this?"

"Yeah. They seemed to be."

"So I'm sure Dani has something planned for you two today huh?" She nodded her head. "She insists that you train Flame instead of me today. She seems to think it's important to go into town today." Junior laughed a bit but then agreed to help Matt train Flame.

Dani and Kris were in the car listening to music for the longest time. When they finally pulled up to the shop, Dani nearly flew out of the car. Kris was slower so Dani calmed down. They walked into the store and were greeted by a few of the salespeople. Noticing Dani's Escalade, they knew she would be a "paying customer", so to speak. Dani wanted to browse for awhile, but it was unnecessary. She saw Kris abruptly stop. She walked over to stand next to Kris. She saw the dress Kris was looking at. It was slightly off-white, long but with a shorter train. It had beautiful rhinestones set at the top of her stomach, and the pattern formed an upside down triangle and the tip was just below her belly-button. "It's beautiful." She had to admit, Kris had a taste for wedding dresses. "I know. I love it. I definitely want this one." One of the salespeople came over and introduced themselves. Kris shook her hand. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to see any other dresses before you make your decision, Miss Furillo?"

"No, thanks. I feel strangely attached to this one. May I try it on?"

"Of course. Size?"

"Four." The saleslady nodded and disappeared into the back of the store. She came out a minute later with the dress in hand. She handed it to her and led her to the nearest dressing room. "Come out when it's on so that we may adjust it to your liking," Kris nodded and shut the door.

When Kris came out, Dani stared. "Wow. You look great."

"Thanks. So it looks okay, then?" The saleslady heard them and quickly made her way over to them. "Wow, may I say Miss Furillo, you look stunning."

"Thankyou." She wasn't sure what else to say. The salesperson took her hand and led her to a mirror with a small platform. She brought out a box of sewing supplies and measuring tape. It took awhile, because she had to make sure everything was perfect, but once she had, she spoke. "Well, surprisingly, you don't need any work done on this dress. It fits you perfectly. That rarely ever happens. This must be a good sign, huh?" Both of the girls nodded. "We'll take it." Dani walked up to the counter. Kris was going to get her wallet but Dani slipped the woman at the register her credit card. "Consider this my wedding present to you." Kris was going to object, but the smile on Dani's face wouldn't allow her to do it. "Thanks, Dani, so much. Can I at least pay for some of it? I feel bad."

"Nope. This is my gift to you. And don't feel too bad it was on sale anyway. Guess all this really is a sign." Kris grinned and they got back into the Escalade, heading home.

Junior and Matt had just finished training Flame for the day, around two. "So, congratulations again."

"Thanks man. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah don't worry. I'm totally cool. I'm happy for you guys." Junior thanked Matt again for being so understanding. "So, where's it gonna be at?"

"We're gonna take a little road trip back to California, back to Raintree."

"You're going to have the wedding at my old house?"

"Not really. We want to have it where she and I first kissed."

"Aw dude that's cute." He said it being serious, but also joking. Junior playfully punched him in the shoulder. "I wanted to ask you something, by the way."

"Yeah?"

"Will you be my best man?"

"Of course man. Be happy too."

"Thanks."

"Yup."

"Well, other than that, Dani's taking care of things. She'll have the invitations mailed out in a week or so, and I already have our honeymoon planned, I just don't want to tell anyone because I want to surprise her."

"You're going to tell me right?"

"Nope."

"Oh come on! You know I can't stand the suspense."

"Sorry. You'll find out soon enough."


	17. Preparations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wildfire.**

"Kris?" Dani called from their small living room. She came out of her bedroom after just waking up. She saw Dani with the coffee pot filled and five or six mugs-it was too early to count-on the table where she was sitting. "You were up all night weren't you?"

"Yeah. I'm really tired but I wanted to start and I told myself I'd only stay up an hour later but then an hour went by and I told myself another hour and…" Kris cut her off. "Dani, Dani. It's too early." She said while patting her on the head as if to say "poor thing". "Well do you want to see what I've come up with?"

"Yeah, but I think I'll wait till Junior gets up. You should go get some sleep."

"I can't. We've got too much to do today."

"The wedding plans can wait a day so you can get your sanity back, it's okay Dani. Really."

"What about the horses?"

"Matt and I have handled Raintree on our own before, I think we can manage this one. And if the job proves to be too much, I'm sure I can persuade Junior to help." She winked at Dani, who laughed in return. "Alright. Don't let me sleep past twelve though k? I don't want to mess up my sleep cycle and if I don't get up by then I won't be able to go to sleep tonight." Kris nodded and Dani stumbled towards her room.

A few minutes after Dani left, Matt got out of the shower. "Oh, hey Kris. Dani up?" She smiled. "What?"

"No, Dani stayed up all night."

"Dani? Since when does she do stuff like that?"

"Since she got so excited with the wedding plans, I guess."

"Oh," he shook his head, still confused. "Well how's it coming?"

"I don't know I'm going to wait for Junior to get up before I look at everything." Matt came over and sat down after grabbing a cup of coffee. "Mind if I take a look?"

"Be my guest." Matt opened up the nicely decorated binder that Dani was keeping the wedding plans in. He began flipping pages while Kris began making pancakes in the kitchen.

Junior woke up an hour later, his eyes still half closed when he managed to stumble out of the bedroom. "Hey guys what's going on?"

"Dani stayed up all night doing the wedding plans and she just went to sleep a little over an hour ago."

"Oh." Junior acted like he wasn't surprised for some reason. He also got a cup of coffee and began walking towards the living room when Kris grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her. She stood on her toes to kiss him, then said "I'd rather you wait till we can look at them together." She smiled at him. "Of course." He saw what she was doing then. "Since when are you a cook?" She elbowed him playfully. "Hey I can cook."

"I've just never seen you do it."

"I never had to."

"True." He took the empty bowl and spatula and starting washing the used dishes for her, while she finished cooking. She made three plates of pancakes for them. By the time she was done, Matt got bored of looking at the book and he turned on the early morning baseball game. Kris brought his pancakes out to him, then sat down next to him with hers, and then Junior sat on her side with his. "Who's winning?" He asked Matt.

"It's a tie. Cardinals vs. A's"

"They both suck." Matt laughed. "There's nothing else on." Kris finished chewing then said "What's wrong with the A's?"

"They suck, I thought I made that clear." He said sarcastically.

"I don't think they're that bad." She replied. Junior laughed and countered with "You don't watch baseball." He had her there. She grinned and turned back to the tv. Matt looked at Junior. "She's biased. She's from Oakland."

"Oh yeah." She heard them but pretended that she didn't.

"So how does the book look Matt?"

"The wedding plans?"

"Yeah."  
"Well, I think she went a little overboard, but that's Dani for ya."

"I'll say." Junior added. He was last to finish his pancakes and took all three plates to the sink.

Matt got up and stretched. "I'm going to go check on the horses and start the timetables." The other two nodded. He shut the door behind him and Junior interlocked his arm with hers. "Shall we?" He asked. She smiled and they went to the table to look at the plans. Kris and Junior looked at the cover. It was laced all around it in white, and in the middle were Kris and Junior's full names. It was decorated with just enough glitter, in white and dark red, the colors they had decided for the wedding. She looked into his eyes and met his gaze and smiled. She opened the binder. The first page was the list of participants:

Bride……………Kristine Furillo

Groom………….Kenneth Davis, Jr.

Bride's Escort….Pablo Betart

Maid of Honor…Danielle Davis

Bridesmaid …….Jean Ritter

Best Man……….Matthew Ritter

Usher……………Todd Ritter

Flower Girl……..( )

This page, also, was laced and decorated the same way the cover was. "Why is there a parentheses around the flower girl?" Junior asked. "Because we don't have one."

"Oh. Now that's a problem."

"Yeah, but we've still got time to find one. I don't have any younger sisters that I know of, do you know anyone that could do this?"

"Well, _I_ have a sister, but a certain escaped mental patient decided to name her maid of honor, so she can't do it…" She laughed. "Whatever. We'll find someone. We have to. It's an important role."

"I agree." They both thought of who could take this part, but no one came to mind. They didn't know any girl that wasn't already in the party or too old to do it. Kris got an idea. "Why not Wildfire?" Junior laughed hysterically, thinking she was kidding. "Oh, you're serious?" He said when he noticed she wasn't laughing back. "Why not?" She asked him. "Well for one, he's not a she. Two, he's not a human, and three, he doesn't have opposable thumbs."

"I know, but what he is doesn't matter, and he doesn't really _have_ to throw petals on the ground does he?"

"That's kinda the whole point."

"Well there has to be some way."

"I don't know…"

"Please? I really want him to be a part of this."

"Well, maybe we could get someone to put some petals on his back and then send him down the aisle, they'll probably fall off as he walks…" She nearly jumped out of her chair. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thank you! I love you!" He kissed the top of her head before saying, "Well I should hope so, cause if you didn't this wouldn't work out." They laughed.

Kris sat back down completely and flipped the page again. This page was a list of the songs that would play at the reception. They looked them over and they were happy with the creative list Dani had come up with. Junior flipped the next page over. His eyes lit up and Kris immediately knew why. This page was the list of food that would be served. Junior looked like he was about to drool reading the list. She heard his stomach growl. "You just ate." She laughed. "Oh, I'm not hungry. My stomach just does that when I see some food that I want."

"Apparently." He flipped the page again. This page had a picture of the wedding cake and topper, the bridesmaid's dresses, and the best man's tuxedo. It also had a picture of a beautiful white canopy that Kris guessed Dani had taken a picture of inside a store already assembled. There was a picture of Christmas lights too, which would normally seem a little odd, but since the wedding would begin at twilight, it was obvious that she was planning to hang them across the canopy where the wedding arch would be and in the surrounding trees.

Junior flipped the page again. This page was the guest list. It was empty except for the names that were already in the wedding party. "We'll have to fill this in and send out invitations." Kris suggested. Junior nodded. She flipped the page and saw a table setting, again, empty. They flipped a few more pages that had information about the DJ, Limo company, honeymoon, decorator, and minister. There were twenty pages after that that were blank. They guessed that those pages would be where they could put some of the wedding photos. The next page simply said one word, "honeymoon" in nice writing. The ten pages after that were also blank, probably for pictures taken during their honeymoon.

"Should we get the guest list in order?"

Kris nodded. "Start writing down everyone that you want to be there on the first column while I get the invitations." She left to the bedroom to get the invitations that they had kept in a drawer. She returned with them, stamps, envelopes, and two pens and sat back down. She looked over Junior's list and saw one name: Kenneth Davis. "That's it? There isn't possibly one other person you'd like to be there?"

"I don't really know anyone."

"What about your friends from high school?"

"They were all mostly girls, and I don't think they'd want to come…" Kris saw where that was going. "Okay, don't you have some family somewhere?"

"I'd really like for my mom to come, but seeing as how my dad paid her to stay away again, I don't think she will."

"Do you know her address?"

"No, why?"

"You should send her one anyway, she may show. You never know."

"I'll get it somehow. I'll look through my dad's address book or something."

"Is there anyone else?"

"Well I have grandparents, but I haven't talked to them in awhile, and some aunts and uncles."

"Send them invitations."

"I should huh?"

"Yeah, they'd still like to come, even if they haven't seen you in awhile."

"Okay." Junior began making invitations out to his distant family. "Do you want to make the trip to Fremont this weekend? We can break the news to my dad and Jean and Pablo, and I can get my mom's address, or try to."

"Sure, but I already told Jean and Pablo."  
"You did? What'd they say?"

"They were ecstatic. Sorry, I should've told you."

"No it's cool. We'll stop by anyhow to say hi or something."

"Yeah." Junior finished writing the invitations, while Kris filled in her guest list. She put her mother, her brother, some friends from high school, the good ones anyway, and her cousins and grandparents.

Kris looked at her watch. _Crap! One o'clock._ She got up quickly and walked to Dani's room and knocked on the door. "Dani? It's one. Sorry I didn't wake you sooner, I lost track of time…" Dani opened the door before she could finish. "I'm up. I woke up like five minutes ago. What did you think?"

"It's awesome Dani. Really, thanks."

"No problem. Where's Matt?"

"Working with the horses times."

"I think I'll help him." Dani walked out the door.

A few days passed by and it was Thursday night. Kris and Junior packed their bags to get ready for the trip the following day. "Are you ready for this?" She asked him. "Of course. I've been ready for this since the day we met." She smiled and kissed him. "I mean to tell your dad."  
"Oh. I'm a little afraid of his reaction. You know I don't like conflict. But he has to know."

"Yeah. Would it be easier for you if I wasn't there to provoke him?"

"No, you should be there, you're going to be my wife, so he needs to get used to the fact that from now on, we're a package deal." She laughed and kissed him again. She tossed her duffel back on the floor next to the door and climbed into bed. He did the same and she turned off the light. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Kris was first to doze off. Normally, she didn't really dream, but tonight she did. It was the most vivid dream she'd had in years:

She saw herself in front of her old apartment, the one she was in from the time she was eight to the time she was ten. Right across the street was the park she used to play in. She looked across the street and into the park, and it was empty except for one small child. She looked at the dark brown hair and brown eyes, and discovered it was her, twelve years earlier, when she was nine. Wanting a closer look, she walked down the stairs and began to cross the street to see why the child was all alone. When she was a kid she would always go with a friend or two, it was dangerous otherwise. She looked around while she was crossing the street, but then the neighborhood she was standing in suddenly changed, though the park and the child stayed put. It wasn't dangerous anymore. She was no longer in the crowded, risky, dirty city streets of Oakland, California. This place was different. It felt peaceful. It felt safe. She felt a warm, peaceful sensation at every nerve ending in her body. She finally crossed the street and entered the park. She was getting closer and closer to the child, but the closer she got to the little girl, the more she began to realize that this _wasn't _her at nine years old. This child was a stranger…


	18. Revelation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wildfire.**

Kris woke up at that point of her dream. She never did get close enough to the child to find out exactly who she was, or what she was doing. _Oh well, it's just a dream. Nothing I should worry about. Strange though._ She saw Junior stir while still asleep. She got up to go take a shower. _I can let him sleep a lil longer._ She got her things ready and walked to the bathroom. Dani was already there so she sat down her stuff on the table and got some coffee started. She had time to sit and drink one cup before Dani got up. She saw her walk out trying to towel dry her hair. "Hey you made coffee." She said as she opened the cupboard to get a cup. "Yeah. Mine's not as good as yours though."

"It's not bad. You and Junior headin out today?"

"Yep. I'm gonna go get in the shower then wake him. Are you sure you and Matt can handle things without us for a weekend?"

"No doubt. You know me. I could do this by myself if I had to."

"You always were the stubborn one." She smiled at her then went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Junior was already up when she got out of the shower, bouncing up and down like a lunatic. She tilted her head and laughed at him. "What're you doing?"

"I have to pee," he managed to say.

"Oh. Sorry." She laughed again and stepped to the side. He ran past her and shut the door. Dani and Matt were sitting on the couch. They looked unusually close. She ducked into her room before they could see her. _I should stay out of that,_ she thought. She stood in front of her small mirror to get ready. By the time she was done Junior had gotten out of the shower and was ready to go. "I'll start taking our stuff to the SUV k?" She nodded her head but didn't look at him, distracted finishing up curling her hair. She had to look presentable to Junior's dad. Even though he didn't hate her now like he did, she still wasn't his favorite person. She cringed at the thought of the meeting they would share the following day. She finished up and put all of her stuff into a Ziploc bag. She grabbed it and turned around to help Junior get the bags. He was standing there, but there were no bags. _Wow I must have been distracted. I didn't even see him come in to get the rest of the stuff._ "Hey." He said. She walked up to him and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and rested the side of his cheek on the top of her head. "You ready?"

"I have to be." He kissed her before he opened her bedroom door. She walked out and told Matt and Dani goodbye and he did the same. "Be careful."  
"Yeah, and call us to tell us how it went." Matt added.

"For sure." Junior replied. He opened the front door for Kris and they walked outside and got into the Escalade. Junior started the engine. "Let's do this," he said.

They talked about different things on the way, horses, racing, cars, Matt and Dani's growing closer, their future together. Kris' eyes starting feeling heavy an hour into the drive though. Junior glanced over at her every now and then while they were talking to be sure she hadn't fallen asleep. About ten minutes after he first noticed her feeling tired, he looked over once again to see that she had fallen asleep. He turned down the radio so she could sleep peacefully. He also pulled over so that he could let the back of her seat down so she could lay down while she was sleeping. He got back into the driver's seat and started up the car again. _She never sleeps during the day. Once she's up she's usually up until later that night. _He thought it was just nerves and excused the subject. _Well, the thought of telling my dad scares me too. Or maybe she just got bored._ He shrugged and turned his eyes back to the wide open road in front of him.

Kris dreamed again. The same dream, but somehow, she still couldn't get close enough to the child to have all of her questions answered, but then, right after she began to realize that the little girl wasn't her, she blinked inside her dream and suddenly she was back at Raintree. Or, it looked like raintree. The track was the same, but the surrounding area was not Raintree, or Davis, or the place they were at now. It was a horse ranch, of that she was sure, but she didn't recognize it the least bit. She heard a horse's neigh, and looked to her left. At first she saw nothing, but she squinted her eyes, and in the distance, she saw a horse with a rider running at the far end of the very long track. It was longer than most regulation raceways. The horse ran closer and closer, and finally, the shape of the rider on top of the horse started to take shape. It was a small girl, she looked like the girl in the park, but younger. She was a foot shorter, and her features were more rounded, babylike. She guessed the child was no more than four. She looked at the horse then. It looked like Wildfire, kind of, but it looked like Houdini also. Like a mix of the two. Or maybe it was just the horse's age that made him look like Houdini. The features were all clearly Wildfires. Just then, panic rushed through her body. How could this girl's parents let her on a horse this big at such a small age? And how could they let her on a horse that they knew was a racehorse? He was too fast for a small child, almost too fast for a trained teen. And where were her parents? She looked around but saw no one. "HEY!" She shouted as loud as she could at the child. "What are you doing up there?" The child didn't so much as turn her head. _Can she not hear me?_ She ran as fast as possible, trying to get to the child. She had to stop the horse before the girl got hurt. She couldn't let herself fail. But no matter how close she got or how loud she yelled, the girl didn't see her. It was like she was a member in an audience in a movie theatre, shouting at the little girl on a large screen. She took a breath and gave up, knowing she wouldn't be able to do any good. She felt a tear come to her eye, out of frustration that she couldn't help the girl, and fear that the girl would be hurt.

Kris jolted awake suddenly, tears rolling down her cheeks. Junior looked panicked. "What's wrong Kris, what happened?" He looked at her, afraid and worried. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Nothing. It was a dream." She looked into his eyes and knew he wanted more. She closed her eyes as she told him what her dream was about. She told him first about the first sight of the girl, in the park. Then she explained the dream about the smaller age of that girl atop the racehorse. He watched as her eyes still were forming tears, and he sensed the panic in her voice. She did too, though she didn't know why. _It was only a dream,_ she had to keep telling herself over and over again. _Nothing to be worried about. Just a dream,_ she repeated in her head over and over.

She finished explaining, and Junior put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, it was a dream."

"I know, it just felt so real, so vivid."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You slept a while you know."

"I did? How long?" Junior smiled and pointed to the clock. It said two o'clock pm. "Oh my God! How the hell did I sleep that long?!" She asked, shocked. She never took naps in daytime, let alone that long. She remembered the last time she looked at the clock it was ten in the morning. "Wow. Four hours. Wow," she repeated. "I know, I'm shocked too." He said, rubbing her shoulder with his right hand.

They pulled into a Best Western that night in the western part of Arizona. Tomorrow they would arrive in Fremont. Junior approached the front desk. "One room, please." The larger lady at the counter nodded and handed him a key, which she saw he exchanged for a few twenties. He glanced at the key, or really, it was a card, and he looked up at her again. "204". She looked to the hallway. There were two elevators. Junior grabbed his bags and one of hers, and she grabbed her other bag. He struggled to push the elevator "up" button holding three bags, so she laughed and did it for him. The door opened slowly and they walked inside. She stood on her toes and kissed him, until they heard the "ding" sound that signaled they'd reached the second floor. They stepped out of the elevator, and room 204 was directly across from them. "Awesome," he said as he nodded his head to the right. She looked at the snack and soda machines that were only a few feet from their room and smiled. "You and food." He smiled back and handed her the card when she held out her hand. He placed it in her hand and she swiped it across the door. The green light came on and she opened the silver door handle to the inside of the room. It was small, but comfortable, very clean, and nice. The window across the room looked out over the pool and Jacuzzi in the courtyard. There was one king size bed on the eastern side of the room, a large tv on the western side. There was a small dresser on each side of the tv. The bathroom was to the right as well, and a vanity set was next to it. On the left was a closet. "Nice." She said as she observed the pool from the window. He set the bags down and went to join her. "Yeah." He kissed her. She returned his kiss, and their attention changed from the pool outside the window to each other. The kiss got deeper, and Kris pulled Junior closer to her as she walked backward towards the bed.

She woke up the next morning to Junior nudging her side. When she opened her eyes, he was already dressed and ready. "Kris, get up, it's nine. We gotta go." He said. "What?" She said, yawning. "How did I sleep so long?"

"I don't know, you've been out all morning. I've been trying to get you up for an hour."

"Oh, I'm sorry."  
"No, don't apologize. Are you sick or something?"

"I don't feel sick."

"Maybe you're coming down with the flu, I was always real exhausted right before the symptoms hit me."

"I hope not, the wedding is in two weeks."

"If that is what this is about, the symptoms will shorten to just a minor cold by then."

"Oh yeah." She flipped the covers off of her and reached for her jacket. "Is it cold in here?" He shook his head. "You're cold?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding. She knew feeling cold was the onset of a fever, which was a part of the flu. She shrugged her shoulders and Junior walked the bags out to the car while she changed and did her hair and makeup. She finished just as Junior was getting the last bag. "Ready?" He asked. "Yeah. Let's go." She double checked the room to be sure they got everything, then shut the door behind her. "Did you already take the card back?"

"Yeah, it's done."

"Okay." He tossed the last bag in the trunk and they both got in. He started the engine. Kris was supposed to drive today, but, seeing as how she felt sleepy all the time now, he decided he'd just do it, which was fine with her. She was too tired to insist on anything the last couple days. Kris fell asleep again and had the same two dreams she'd had the day and night before.

Kris woke up and looked at the clock. It said four o'clock. She looked out the window. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Fremont, California. She had to admit she missed this little town. She saw the familiar path that lay out in front of them, and realized they were only a minute from the Davis ranch. She felt her chest sink a little when the house came into view. _Here we go._ She took a deep breath, and heard Junior unconsciously do the same. He shut off the car and stuffed the keys into his pocket. He put his hand on top of hers and took another deep breath. He turned then, and hopped out of Dani's Escalade. He walked over to the other side of the car to open Kris' door. He put his hand out and she took it, and gently stepped out of the vehicle. They walked hand-in-hand towards the front door.

The doorbell rang. To Kris, it sounded like one of those scary music tones that played in the movies right before something bad happened. "Here goes," Junior said. She heard the familiar footsteps inching towards the door like the drumbeats in Jaws. The door opened, and Ken had his arms out towards Junior. Junior looked at her and then hugged his dad. "You look great, son." He said. He looked to Kris and nodded his head. "Kris." He said, acknowledging her. "Hello Mr. Davis." She said, smiling politely. "You look well."

"As do you," he said reluctantly. He really did look different, like if the four of them separated by that many miles did him some good. His hair didn't look quite as grey as it did before, and his age wrinkles weren't as noticeable. "What brings you back into town? I wasn't expecting you." Junior took another deep breath. "Can we come in?"

"Sure." Mr. Davis looked a little apprehensive. However, he moved to the side to let them pass. They took a seat on the couch in the living room in front of the stone fireplace. Ken sat in a chair directly across from them and put one of his hands on his knee and the other on the side of the couch.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"You know how Kris and I are back together right."

"Yeah…"

"Well, you know how we've gotten closer, and how she's somehow…different" he chose the word carefully. "Different, than the other girls I've been with."

"I'm not following you," he lied. Junior sighed. "Dad, Kris has agreed to marry me." There was a long silent pause. Finally, Ken pursed his lips and spoke. "And this was your idea, son?"

"Yeah. It was. I love her more than I thought possible. I'll never want anyone else."

"And you're sure?"

"Yes, dad. I love her. The wedding is, well, soon, and we'd very much like you to be there." He glanced once at Kris, then back to his son. "How soon?"

"Two weeks, here."  
"Here? At my house?"

"No, in a field of flowers close to Raintree, where we first kissed."

"How very nice. Did you sign a prenup?"

"Dad!"

"Alright, alright. I know she loves you, I'm just… protective, son. I want to make sure she's marrying you for you." He glared at Kris. He knew she loved him, but he didn't know for sure that that was why, being the angry, unhappy man that he was. Kris was deeply offended, but she did want to prove to Ken that Junior's birthright meant nothing to her. Only him. "Mr. Davis, while I'm a little offended that you would suggest that I'd do such a thing, you can draw up a prenuptial agreement, and I will gladly sign it. I'll do it now if you need me to."

"Kris," Junior protested, "That's not necessary."

"I know it's not, but you're dad needs proof that I love you for you."

"If he doesn't believe us that's his problem."

"I'll still sign it if you have one done, Mr. Davis." She turned back to Ken. He thought about it for a minute. "No need, I guess," He said reluctantly. "I can see that Junior trusts you, and I've had proof that you love him. And I would love to go to the wedding." Junior's face lit up. Kris knew he wasn't fond of his dad, but she knew he loved him, and his approval meant a lot to him, though it was never required for Junior to make a decision. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Uh, yeah. Do you have beer dad?"

"Sure do. Kris?"

"Um, soda is fine for me, thanks."

Ken walked into the kitchen. Junior looked to Kris. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." She nodded. "I know."

Ken was given all of the details for the wedding, even though they'd already sent the invitations and his should arrive anyday with the same information. They were walking out the door when Junior remembered something. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Do you uh, do you still have uh, mom's address?" He stuttered, afraid to say it.

"Her old one. She's not a very stable person and she moves a lot. I'm not sure if she's still at that one or not, but I don't think so."

"I know she's not the greatest mom in the world, but I still want her to be there. You'll be getting two invitations in the mail soon. Could you please, please send one to the address you have of hers?" It was hard to deny the look on his face, and Ken reluctantly agreed. "I guess. Don't get your hopes up though." He said as he closed the door. "Bye."

Telling Jean and Pablo wasn't nearly as hard, which was expected. They knew Jean would be happy. She was ecstatic. "Oh my! That's so great!" She squealed as she squeezed Kris and then Junior. Pablo was a bit more cautious. "Don't you think you're a little young, Kris?" He asked, much like a girl's father would. "I know I'm young, but really don't think our age will trouble us at all. I know this will work."

"I do to," Junior added. "You're not rushing into this?" He asked again, a little frustrated. "I don't believe we are." Junior said. "We have a connection. The one people spend their entire lives trying to find." He winked at Kris after he said that, and she remembered when he'd said those exact words to her. "Oh Pablo be happy for the kids!" Jean insisted. He looked at her. "They _are_ kids."

"They're twenty-one, nearly twenty-two. Just tell them you love them and you're happy." She glared at him. He looked at Kris and Junior, then to Jean, then back. "Fine. I _am_ happy, and I _do _love you guys, you know. I'm just a little worried…" Kris cut him off. "I love you too Pablo. And there's no need to worry. We'll be fine." She ran up to Pablo and hugged him. Then he shook Junior's hand. Jean was still beaming. "Do you kids need a place to sleep tonight?"

"We'd very much appreciate it. Thanks, Jean. By the way, I forgot to ask, will you be my bridesmaid?" Jean started to cry and Pablo rolled his eyes before he went over to comfort her. "I'd love to Kris! You don't know how much that would mean to me." She smiled. "I'm glad. You'll get your invitations in the mail soon."

"Okay," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Pablo?" Kris said. "Yeah?"

"There's one more thing… will you walk me down the aisle, please?" She knew he'd agree, but she didn't expect this. Pablo looked like he was about to cry, but he held the tears back while he still comforted Jean. He let a small smile leak out across his face. "You know I will. Goodnight kids." He said. "Goodnight." Kris and Junior walked up the stairs to Matt's old room. "That went well." Junior said. "Yeah, I guess Jean got over what I'd done to her."

"It wasn't all that bad, you know. It's Jean, she doesn't really hold grudges, try as she might. And the fact that she loves you counters her efforts completely." She smiled, happy to know that he was right. She loved Jean too, she was like her mother. "So, what will we do tomorrow?"

"Go back over to my dad's. I'm going to look and see if I can find a newer address."

"But your dad said…" He interrupted her, "I can't be sure he's telling me the truth. I'm going to be sure."

The next day Junior woke up at ten, and Kris was still sleeping. _I'll let her sleep. I'll be able to focus more on what I'm trying to find._ He hurried and dressed and went downstairs. Jean and Pablo were watching the news when he got down there. "Hey Junior, where's Kris?" Pablo asked. "Sleeping."

"Really? She never sleeps this late."

"She's been doing it for a couple of days now, I think she may be coming down with something."

"Oh." Pablo excused it. Jean said nothing, but he saw the calm expression on her face change to confusion. "Okay so, I'm going over to my dad's. I'll be back later on."  
"Okay," they both agreed, "When are you guys going back to New Mexico?"

"Actually, we thought we'd stay here, since the wedding is here in two weeks. If that's okay with you, I mean. If not we could stay at my dad's or even at…"

"Absolutely not you'll stay here." Jean insisted, smiling widely. "Okay, thanks."

"How are Matt and Dani getting here, then?" Pablo asked. Junior turned around to answer his question. "Actually, we've already talked about it. They've hired someone to take care of the horses while they're gone, and they're going to take a cab to the airport and fly here. We just have to pick them up on Friday before the wedding on Sunday." He nodded his head and Junior left to go to his dad's.


	19. The Wedding: Matt

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wildfire or any of its characters.**

The day that I always thought I'd be dreading had finally come. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, Kris marrying Junior, but it still wasn't pleasant either. I had to admit that I was happy for them though, I mean, I loved Kris and so I wanted her to be happy, and Junior was my best friend. And as much as I hated to admit sometimes, I loved Junior too, and I wanted him to be happy. But perhaps the thing I _most_ hated to admit was that, there _was_ a strange connection between the two of them. Who was I kidding? They were _perfect_ together. I didn't know why, and I really wished that I did, because maybe there'd be a way to change it, but they were great together.

Of course, with Dani and I becoming closer and closer, it makes it a little hard to dwell on the past, and my failed attempts at love with Kris. I _did_ love Dani, after all, I just wanted it all. I've grown up since then, I guess. But somehow, being around Dani made everything just a little bit easier for me. She was so easy to be around now, and since she'd also grown up and matured _a lot_, I can't really say that I haven't found myself increasingly attracted to her. That's probably the reason that the long airplane trip seemed so short. Dani and I had grown up so much, it felt like I was meeting her for the first time. You know when you first meet someone, how there are an endless amount of things to talk about? It was like that. To my pleasant surprise, she had also felt that I grew up some too, which would explain her shocked reaction at how well I took the news of Kris and Junior's engagement.

I had the vaguest sense of compassion towards Dani now, and I got the vibe that she felt the same way towards me now. She'd fallen asleep once during the plane ride to California, and her head subconsciously rested itself on my shoulder. It was oddly comforting. It felt…right, somehow. Maybe I'd overlooked the relationship that Dani and I had. Maybe we _were_ meant to be together, and we just had to mature a little first in order to realize it. Whatever the reason was, I welcomed it.

I didn't know just how much I'd missed my mom, Todd, and Pablo, until I met their faces at the airport. I felt my smile widen when I caught sight of them waiting for us. I took Dani's hand and walked towards them. We all exchanged welcomes and hugs before I got a chance to ask why Kris and Junior weren't there. "They're making last minute wedding preparations. They'll be anxious to see you though." I nodded, not really knowing what else to say.

The car ride home was oddly quiet, for some reason. Seeing as how I hadn't seen them in about a year or so, I was thinking that it would be a lot more talkative. But I guess there wasn't really much to catch up on. My mom insisted on calling once a week. So the car ride consisted on mostly how are you's and small talks. Dani was the one that was the most talkative. Not surprising. She went on and on about the wedding details that I'm sure they already knew anyway. Although, I _did_ enjoy listening to her tell them about it.

Kris and Junior looked as happy as ever when we got there. That was good, but to be expected. He couldn't take his eyes off her, nor she him. There was something different about her, and I tried to pick out what it was desperately, but I was unable to put my finger on what it was, exactly. It was a good thing, but completely foreign to me obviously. I hoped that no one else noticed so I wouldn't be the only one who didn't compliment her on whatever it was that she had done different. Other than that small difference that I couldn't quite place, she looked exactly the same. She did look a little exhausted though. I wondered for a moment what she could possibly be doing here to be tired since she probably wasn't working. Then I realized I probably didn't want to know what the answer to that question was.

After the formal introductions my mom told Dani and I that we should go upstairs to change for the rehearsal dinner. I actually didn't know why we were doing this part of the wedding, because we were just dressing up and going out to eat, we weren't actually _rehearsing_ anything. The canopy that was going to be used for the wedding, along with the tables and chairs, weren't going to be set up until tomorrow, on the off-chance that it would rain. I sighed and walked up the stairs. I normally didn't like dressing up, but when I finished changing and walked down the stairs to see Dani in a beautiful red cocktail dress, I was glad I did.


	20. The Wedding: Dani

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Wildfire.**_

I was absolutely ecstatic about this wedding. Especially since I got to plan it. I couldn't get my mind past the fact that I was actually going to have a sister. Well, a sister-in-law. I put on my long red cocktail dress to prepare for the rehearsal dinner, which was tonight. We were eating at some Italian place that Matt's family went to all the time, though I've never heard of it. Dad usually has the chef he hired cook.

I got downstairs and saw Junior, Kris, Matt, and everyone else waiting. I guess I took the longest getting ready. Junior looked very done-up for his usual attire. He usually hated dressing up, but I could see how it could be so much different this time: He was marrying the girl of his dreams. Ugh. Sounds so corny, but true nonetheless. And Kris, she was incredibly beautiful tonight. She must have used a different makeup or something, because her skin was shimmering, glowing. Matt took my breath away. He had his soft, smooth hair combed back, which normally looks a little too old for his age, but looked great on him. His eyes were piercing when he was looking at me, I could tell what he was doing. Please, does he think I was born yesterday? I smiled courteously, and suggested that we get going.

Matt and I would ride with Jean and Pablo, and Kris and Junior with Dad. I felt bad for them, particularly Kris, though they seemed to all be holding themselves together pretty well when we got there so he must not have been too tough on them. Well, they should be thankful for _that_. Dad wasn't in the best mood lately. He knew Kris loved Junior, it was obvious from the first time he saw it in her eyes at the hospital after Junior's accident. But, he didn't trust her. I didn't at first either, her being prison girl and all, but she's really not who I thought she was in the years past. I may actually _enjoy_ having her as a sister.

While eating, I decided I'd make a toast. I cleared my throat and Matt looked over at me as if he knew exactly what I was about to do. He looked like he was pleading me not to. Well, he didn't _have_ to make a speech just because I did, so I went for it. I put my fork to my champagne glass three times. Everyone in the small group here stopped chatting, or in Dad's case, quietly eating and not making eye contact, stopped what they were doing and looked at me. I began, "I never thought this bonehead," I said nodding my head towards Junior, "Would ever fall in love, let alone get married. May I just say, I've never seen him so happy. Kris brings out things in him that no one has ever seen before. They've had their ups and downs, but through it all, they both knew in their hearts that they belonged together, and so here we are." I began to clap and soon everyone else did the same. Matt stood up. Just like Matt to never be outdone. He was more competitive than I was sometimes. I was surprised when Matt didn't even make an effort to make his speech more moving than mine. He stood up, and started with, "I've known Junior for a lot of my life. I saw his eyes when he first saw Kris, and I watched him gradually fall in love with her, I never thought he'd beat me, congratulations, man, you won." He sat back down. Everyone was laughing, thinking that it was supposed to be a joke. Even Matt started laughing after he noticed that everyone else was, probably trying to cover up whatever was bothering him. Well, _I _knew it wasn't a joke. Even though Matt grew up a lot, I still knew that he might have trouble with this wedding. He needs to just figure out what he wants already. He says he loves her, but then leads me to believe that he's over her and it's just me that he wants now. I don't know what to believe. Any idiot would still know that he loves Kris, and I'm no idiot, but still, the way he looks at me…

It was a very long, silent car ride back. Jean and Pablo were the only ones going on and on about who knows what. I was busy studying Matt's unreadable expression. I didn't want to start anything in the truck, though. Jean and Pablo pulled up and went inside. "You coming, kids?" Jean asked kindly. "In a minute," I told her. Then I looked at Matt, and he knew immediately what I wanted. I walked over to the tree stump that he and I used to sit on and talk when we were together, I tucked my dress under my legs before sitting down and motioning for him to come sit by me. He sighed after sitting down. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't pull that crap on me, I know you better than you think I do."

"I know," he said, grinning slightly. "I'm just, really not sure."

"About if you still have feelings for Kris or not?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you probably do."

"I didn't expect to hear you say that."

"I didn't want to. Matt, what do you want?" He looked at me, confused. "Huh?"

"Sorry, I mean _who_ do you want?" There was a long moment of silence. "Not for just a night, but forever?"

"I… I wish I could tell you. I feel that you and I have a connection, kind of like the one that Kris and Junior have. But, this wedding still bothers me."

"That's it?"

"Uh, not sure I follow you."

"The only thing that's bothering you is the wedding?"  
"Yeah, what else is there?"

"Uh, the fact that Kris loves Junior and not you? That doesn't bother you a little?"

"Well, not really. I'm kind of happy for them." I breathed a sigh of relief. I put my hand to my forehead and shook my head. "What?" He asked me. "Duh Matt! Of course the wedding is going to bother you! But everyone is bothered when their ex gets married or gets together with someone else. You don't have feelings for Kris anymore, this isn't about love, it's about her picking Junior over you! You don't love her, you're just jealous! Anyone would be." He looked happy but still confused. "That would certainly explain all of this crap…" he thought to himself. "What crap?"

"Well like how the wedding bothers me but I really don't see myself with Kris anymore, I see myself with, well, you." He smiled. I did the same. "In that case, that would definitely explain it." He traced my lips with his fingers. I took his hand off my face and put it on the tree. "Are you sure?" He seemed to think about it. I could tell by his expression. "Definitely, would you like me to prove it?"

"Uh, prove what?"

"That I love you, that I want to be with you, that I see myself with you." Uh oh. I can see where this is going. "And how would you do that?" I knew what he was suggesting, but it was just so much fun to play with Matt that way.


	21. The Wedding: Junior

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wildfire or its characters.**

I went to bed with the biggest smile on my face. Tomorrow I would marry Kris. I've waited for this for a very, very long time. I honestly never thought I would ever find a girl worth it, but she is the world to me. I turned over to face her. She was already asleep. It was amazing to watch her sleep, she looked so peaceful and full of grace. It took me about an hour to fall asleep, because my head was busy reviewing so many memories that I had with her, and then I began thinking about my vows. I hadn't written them yet, but it wouldn't be hard to do.

The next time my eyes opened, I saw the little red numbers on the clock that told me it was ten o'clock. Kris was still asleep. We had our honeymoon in Fiji, the place she has always wanted to see, coming up soon, so I hoped she wasn't getting sick, which would explain her sudden sleepiness. Just then she turned around and her eyes met mine. "We're getting married today."

"I know." Her smile was just as big as mine. She leaned over to kiss me. The knock on the door interrupted the kiss. Dani barged in. _Yeah, leave it to Dani._ I thought to myself. "Kris what are you doing?! We have to start getting ready!"  
"Dani relax we have nine hours."

"Well it's going to take me forever to do your hair." She told her, handling her messed up bedhead, that I thought was absolutely gorgeous. Kris rolled her eyes and caught the towel and robe that Dani threw at her. She turned to me after Dani left. "I guess I'll be taking a shower now." I smiled and she walked into the bathroom. I went downstairs to get something to eat.

"The only people awake were Dani and Jean. Jean was making eggs and bacon. She put some on a plate for me and motioned for me to sit down and eat. After fixing up plates for everyone else, she called them down and sat by me. Everyone but Kris came down to eat, she was still in the shower. I ate as slowly as possible, hoping that if I ate slow enough Kris would come down and I'd get a chance to eat with her. Matt looked up at me, strangely much happier than he should be during this kind of situation. "So, you excited?"

"Oh yeah," I replied.

"Nervous?" Pablo asked.

"Terrified," I replied. I was afraid that I would forget something, or that something would happen to mess up the wedding, but I wasn't at all nervous or afraid of marrying Kris, that was the only thing that I was absolutely 100% sure about.

I guess I didn't time my eating right, because she came down just as I finished and put my plate in the sink. Jean put an extra helping of food on Kris' plate and I wondered why. I looked at her, confused. Jean replied while Kris ate, "she asked me to give her extra because she is going to skip lunch." That explained it. Except for the fact that it was already eleven when she began eating. I shrugged it off and went upstairs to take my shower.

Matt was waiting in his old bedroom for me when I got out. I put one of Matt's pairs of sweats on, with no shirt. I didn't want to mess up my tux while I was readying myself. I made a horrible attempt at blow drying my hair for the first time ever. It ended up looking worse than it was when I woke up this morning. Jean came in laughing. "Let me help you boys," she said, taking the blow dryer from my hands. I didn't know how girls always managed to do hair perfectly, even if it wasn't their own. My hair was styled the way it usually was, just in a neater way, and the gel in it was obvious, but there wasn't enough gel to make it look greasy, for which I was relieved.

I put on my tux and looked at the time while I was tying my shoes. I hated dress shoes, they hurt my feet, but they were necessary, it would look horrible to wear tennis shoes with a tux. Then the time registered in my head. It was two. In five hours the ceremony would begin. Kris always wanted a twilight wedding, who knows why. I got up to go see her, but I was caught by Dani. She put her hand in front of my chest to stop me. "You can't see her before the wedding nimrod!" I rolled my eyes but agreed, I was just as happy waiting, this way I would get to see her walk down the aisle in her wedding dress, and I'd be shocked at how beautiful she looked, not that she didn't look beautiful now. Especially in the last month or so, she looked different somehow. I could see the sun in her skin, it seemed to reflect off of her as if she was a mirror, but I couldn't explain why.

Four o'clock came faster than I expected. In just three hours I would be Kris' husband, it was hard to wait. I was all ready, so I got in the car to go see my dad and make sure he was ready. On the drive over there, I saw in the distance to my right, the wedding canopy set up, with tables and chairs and a red carpet lined with roses. This is where I would be for the happiest moment in my life.

Dad was just about as cheery as usual. "Junior, you look nice."

"As do you." I said as I sat down on one of our couches in the living room. "So," My dad said sitting in his favorite spot on the couch, "Are you sure you want to do this?"  
"Dad, I have never been more sure of anything in my life." He looked half relieved, but also half worried. Dad would never fully accept Kris because of her background, but it was nice to know that he was at least a little happy about it all. He was already in his tux, all ready. I decided I might as well stay here since it was getting pretty close to five, and ride to the wedding site with my dad when it was time.

An hour flew by and it was a little past six. My Dad's driver arrived and opened the doors to the Mercedes for me and my dad. The car started up and we were on our way over there. Mostly everyone was already there. I saw my family and friends, and even my mother, I was happy to notice, sitting in the chairs next to the red carpet. I took my place on the small stage in front of the priest and we introduced ourselves. I stood with my hands folded, waiting for the wedding march to begin shortly.


	22. The Wedding: Kris

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wildfire.**

Junior was hanging out with Matt downstairs, I was upstairs in Matt's old room watching tv. I got up to answer the knock at the door. As soon as I opened it, Jean embraced me with a huge smile on her face. "Kris," she began to cry. I immediately thought that something was wrong and I began to cry too. It wasn't like me to cry because I had never been a very emotional person, so my own tears surprised me. "What Jean? What's wrong?" I was worried. Even though Jean wasn't my mother, she was a hell of a lot closer to one than my biological mother. I didn't like to see the people I cared about hurt. She released me and put her hands on my shoulders, looking directly into my eyes. "What?" Now I was confused. She didn't look upset, she looked happy, but what could make her so happy as to start to cry, and she sure picked a fine time to do it. The confusion was contagious. When she saw that I had no idea what on earth she was crying for she looked confused as well. "You mean, you really don't know?"  
"Uh, I don't think so." I told her. "Kris, think about it, you're tired all the time. You are emotional, everyone knows that there is something different about you but no one knows exactly what…" I still didn't know what she meant. "Oh I know I think I'm getting sick or something." She turned away slightly and grinned, she looked like she was trying to hold back laughter. "Kris," she began again, but she didn't need to finish, now I understood, I could tell by the way she kept glancing from my face, to my stomach, and back. "Oh, Jean, no, I don't think…" But then I remembered. That night that Junior asked me to take his name, the proposal night, we weren't as prepared as we should have been, we were too caught up in the moment… My eyes grew wide as the realization shocked me over and over again. That would explain everything that's been happening, but I don't know for sure. I told myself not to jump to conclusions. I counted on my fingers, trying to remember when I should have gotten my cycle. One week ago, I figured out. It wasn't impossible to be a week late, but it was rare. I had to know for sure. I looked down and to the right, trying to think, trying to find words. "Um, do you, uh," I was so swept up in shock that I couldn't find the words to say. "So now, um," _come on,_ I told myself, _out with it._ "What do I do now?" She hugged me again briefly. "You need to take a pregnancy test to be sure."

"I don't have one." She held up a small purple box that it seemed she pulled out of nowhere, but it was probably behind her back the whole time. How did she find out before I did? Was she really that perceptive? I took it, not reluctantly, but nervously. I had no idea how to raise a child. I was so close to a child myself, only 21; And Junior, almost 22, but not yet. "I'll be right back." I told her. She sat on the foot of Matt's bed and I went into the bathroom.

Three minutes seems like forever when your life could be about to change. I paced a few times, looked in the mirror at the non-existent bump on my stomach, imagining what I would look like once I became "inflated" as my brother Jace always put it. I heard a knock at the door and I was scared to death that it was Junior. How was I supposed to tell him all of this before the wedding? He would probably be happy, but it would change everything. We can't live in the cramped two bedroom house that was nearly falling apart now. We'd have to move. We don't have a lot of money, and I can't ride horses in this condition. I took a deep breath and opened it, but it was only Jean. "Well?" She asked me. Time must have passed while my mind was wandering. I looked at my watch and it was time. I let her in. I walked over to the sink, where the small stick was waiting for me. I took another deep breath, closed my eyes briefly, and opened them again before I picked it up. My hands reached for it, Jean's eyes looking excited and anxious. I looked at it, and closed my eyes again. I lifted it up so Jean could see the tiny, two pink lines that had just changed my life, and was about to change one more. Jean jumped up and down once, and hugged me again. "Congratulations Kris". "Thanks." We stayed that way for a few moments, until I finally told her, "Jean, I don't want to tell Junior yet."

"Why not? He is going to be happy."  
"I just, want to take everything one thing at a time. I will tell him after the wedding, I promise." She nodded once. "It's all covered. He won't know unless you tell him. I promise." I hugged her again. "Thank you."

AT THE WEDDING:

"You look beautiful."

"Thanks Matt." I should hope so, Dani spent at least three hours on me. Matt lifted his arm for Dani to take it. I watched them unveil themselves from the tall bushes that we were all hiding behind, and turn onto the red carpet, leading up to the arch. After them, Ken Davis Sr. lifted his arm for Jean to take it, and then they made their walk down the aisle. I stole a glance at Pablo who cringed at the sight of Jean with Ken. I always knew he had a thing for her, even when I first came to Raintree. "Are you ready Kris?" I took a deep breath, and then confidently said, "Yes, let's go." I took Pablo's arm, and linked my arm with his. A stable caretaker led Wildfire and the roses atop him down the aisle about ten feet in front of Pablo and I. I smiled at Junior when he came into view. His eyes were full of happiness, like I was everything he ever dreamed of. I really hoped that I was. He was everything I have ever dreamed of. The smile on his face got wider and wider, and he looked like his eyes were about to tear up. I smiled back at him, desperately trying to hold back my tears as well, Dani would be pissed if I messed up my mascara and eyeliner. Not that it mattered. _I'm sure he'll get to see me cry once I'm up on stage anyway._ The wedding march got louder and louder until I passed the speakers that were at the end of the red carpet. Pablo and I continued to walk, until we got to the stage. Pablo kissed the top of my head, and Junior held out his hand, at the same time that Pablo released my arm. I took his hand, and stepped up to the small stage, facing my soon-to-be husband.

"Dearly beloved," The pastor began, "We are gathered here today to acknowledge and share the loving union of two children of God." The pastor kept going while I was practicing my vows in my head, I decided I would just say them from my heart, instead of writing them down. I thought through everything that we'd been through the past five years, starting from the beginning. I remembered every feeling from every moment that we were together. I was sure the words would stream together beautifully. The pastor looked at me and I realized it was time for me to say my vows to Junior. I looked into his eyes through every word that I said. "Junior, these last five years that I've known you have been the best five years of my life. You changed me, you helped me develop from a rebellious teen girl into the woman that I am today. I know we have drifted apart a few times since we've known each other, but each time, in the back of my mind, I knew that we would end up together. Every time you touch me or kiss me, or I even hear you speaking to me, it just feels so right, and I know that I am exactly where I'm supposed to be in life, standing here, in front of you. And my vow to you, is that for every moment that I breathe, I will love you and cherish you like no other. I will always be by your side no matter what, and I will never leave. You are every part of my heart and my soul, and I will love you forever."

Junior choked back a few tears when he said "I love you too." The pastor gave him a few moments to pull it all together before reading his vows. Only when it was time, and the pastor nodded at Junior to begin, I noticed he didn't have any. He was going to do the same thing that I was, speak directly from his heart. We truly were perfectly matched. I looked back up into his eyes, awaiting to hear him speak. "Kris Furillo," he began, "You are the sole reason that I am who I am today. I'm not who I used to be, and you changed me too. It is because of you that I am positively certain that there is some form of heaven, because I get a glimpse of it whenever I look into your gorgeous brown eyes, and every time I'm with you I feel like angels are surrounding me, lifting us up on a cloud. I can not believe that destiny treated an imperfect guy like me so kindly, and I am so lucky that I have you. Because for every moment that you are in my arms, and for every moment that you are near me, I feel that I have everything I've always wanted, and everything I'll ever need. You are my life, and my vow to you is this: For as long as I shall live, I will love you for better, for worse, and I will take care of you in sickness, and in health. I will never leave you, I will never be the reason for your sadness, but I will be the reason for your joy. I am and will forever remain proud to call you my wife, and I am yours forever, and for always."

_Crap. I was so sure that my vows were so perfectly spoken, until I heard his perfect voice just now._ Screw Dani, I started crying anyway. "The rings?" The pastor asked. Todd stepped forward and gave one to each of us, then the pastor spoke again, "Kristine Furillo, do you promise to take Kenneth Davis Junior as your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" I looked at Junior directly in the eyes when I said, "I do." I slid the ring onto his ring finger on his left hand, and looked at the pastor. "And do you, Kenneth Davis Junior, promise to take Kristine Furillo as your lawfully wedded wife, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do," he said, looking at me as if he couldn't wait for the next part. He gently took my left hand and slid the wedding band onto my ring finger, before kissing my hand and releasing back to my side. This time we both looked at the pastor, who began again, "Ladies and Gentlemen, by the powers invested in me, may I present to you for the first time, Mister and Misses Kenneth Davis Junior." We joined hands, and awaited for the final line to come from the pastor. "You may now kiss the bride." Junior put his hand on my back and I put my arms around his neck while we kissed for the first time as husband and wife, the sounds of cheers and applause in the background.

After much chatting and visiting with our guests, it came time for our first dance as husband and wife. Junior took my hand and led me to the dance floor, finely crafted out of wood and placed in the field. The song began, and we danced close. It was dark now, but there were strings of white, dimmed Christmas lights that draped from poles at each corner of the wooden floor. We danced, moving in a slow circle, to look at every one of our guests. When my eyes met Jean's, she mouthed something to me. I tried to decipher her lip movements in my head. _It's time_, she told me. I knew that it was totally up to me, but I trusted her judgement. I just had to figure out a way to tell him, so he could be the least shocked as possible. I put my head on his shoulder, to whisper in his ear. I didn't know how to say it, so I came out with, "Guess what?" _Oh, real nice Kris. Like he's really going to get it off of those words._ I thought to myself, but it was harder to say it than I had imagined. As it turns out, I didn't need to. He pulled away from me the slightest bit in order to look at my face. I saw in his eyes each thing click one by one. The extra emotion, the sleepiness, the glow that everyone noticed but didn't realize that it was _the_ glow, and the appetite. He looked happy, Jean was right. He was taking this better than I had. I felt his hand release from my back, and he put his hand gently on the lower part of my stomach, and kissed my forehead. I leaned up to kiss his lips, and the longer I kissed him, the more the faces of the people we knew and loved-who just all realized when Junior put his hand on my stomach the reason that I looked so different before-faded into the back of my mind. This was forever.


	23. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wildfire.**

Five Years Later…

"Alex!", Kris called to her daughter running towards the stables. Alex stopped and turned towards her mother, trying to catch up to her. "Mommy can't run as fast as you can baby," Kris said. "Why?" The little girl asked. "Because I am older."

"But the older kids at my school run faster than the little kids at my school," she argued. "She's just as stubborn as her mother is," Junior said before he kissed his wife. Kris turned back to her daughter, "Uh, nevermind. Don't go past the stables okay?"

"Don't worry mommy, I'm just gonna go see Wildfire." Alex ran off towards the stables again. "And she has a love for horses and racing just like me too." Junior nodded, his arm around Kris, both of them looking towards the stable. "But she has her dad's beautiful eyes." He kissed the top of her forehead.

Pablo had Wildfire's rope in one hand and Alex in the other. "She never gets tired of riding him," He told Junior and Kris. They smiled and admired their child. They followed Pablo, Alex, and Wildfire to one of the small rail circles on the ranch. Jean was already there so she opened the gate to let Pablo through. He saddled Wildfire up and then gently sat Alex on top of the old horse. He walked Wildfire slowly in a circle, with one hand on Alex's back to be sure she didn't fall. Jean sighed happily. "This reminds me of when I used to watch Matt and Todd ride on top of Houdini." Kris smiled at her.

Ken Davis Sr. passed away three years after his son was married, and left his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter that he was very fond of the entirety of Davis ranch, where they now resided, though they still spent a considerable amount of time at Raintree Farms, with Pablo and Jean. Dani was left Ken's cars, and all of his savings account, except for 30,000 dollars which was put away in a trust fund for his grandchild. Dani and Matt lived in New Mexico at Promesa Farms, and were now married with one son, named Matt, two years old. Dani used the money from her dad's savings to fix up the farm. They renovated it and built a second story to the home, adding another restroom and two more bedrooms. They also added more to the stables there. They came to Fremont four times a year to visit Junior, Kris, and Alex. Jean and Pablo married two years after Kris and Junior. Todd went to a military academy and so Jean and Pablo had the house to themselves. They adopted one child from an orphanage who took over Matt's old room, and kept Todd's room the same for when he returned home. Kris' brother Jace enlisted in the Marines and supported a wife and two children in San Francisco. Kris' mother successfully completed rehab and got a job in Fremont. She rented an apartment close to Davis Farms in order to be closer to her family.

**A/N: Sorry the epilogue was short, but there wasn't much to put into it. Anyway, I enjoyed writing this fanfic and I hoped you all enjoyed reading it.**


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